Hamlet (Dean)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Hamlet'' is an
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in two acts by Australian composer
Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Biography Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan a ...
, with an English
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by
Matthew Jocelyn Matthew Jocelyn (born 1958) is the former artistic and general director of Canadian Stage, the largest not-for-profit theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prior to his appointment at Canadian Stage, Jocelyn was the artistic and general director of ...
, which is based on
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's
play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
. The libretto uses "as little as 20 per cent" of the play's text and also takes inspiration from the "first
quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
" as it "offers a different view on certain moments". The opera premiered at
Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...
on 11 June 2017, directed by
Neil Armfield Neil Geoffrey Armfield (born 22 April 1955) is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera. Biography Born in Sydney, Armfield is the third and youngest son of Len, a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's Biscuits factory and Nita Armf ...
and conducted by
Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (; born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conductor. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life Born in Moscow, Jurowski began hi ...
. A month later on 6 July, the production was live streamed on Glyndebourne's website free of charge. The production was then presented in 2018 at the
Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
with Clayton, Gilfry, and Begley from the Glyndebourne cast and
Cheryl Barker Cheryl Ruth Barker (born 22 April 1960, Sydney) is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including the title ro ...
as Gertrude. The
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
in New York City mounted the Glyndebourne production in May 2022 with several of the original cast members, conducted by Australian conductor Nicholas Carter in his Met debut.


Roles

Additional roles include an on-stage accordionist (premiere cast:
James Crabb James Crabb (born 1967) is a Scottish classical accordion player. Crabb was born in Dundee. He was given his first accordion at age 4 by his accordion-playing father. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with class ...
). The work is written for large on-stage chorus, as well as an eight-strong 'semi-chorus' in the pit.


Reception

Erica Jeal, writing for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' in 2017, gave a generally favourable review: "Dean's music is many-layered, full of long, clear vocal lines propelled by repeated rhythmic figures in the orchestra, and has moments of delicate beauty ... and the chorus whispers almost as much as it sings."
Rupert Christiansen Rupert Christiansen (born 1954) is an English writer, journalist and critic. Life and career Born in London, Christiansen is the grandson of Arthur Christiansen (former editor of the ''Daily Express'') and son of Kay and Michael Christiansen (forme ...
in ''The Telegraph'' noted that the performance appeared to be a hit with the audience—"The first-night audience for Brett Dean's new opera roared its approval so vociferously that I feel almost shame-faced to confess to any reservations about its success"—and complimented it on Dean's music, the actors' vocal performances, and the sound design. However, he was ultimately left cold, saying that "the drama holds attention, but lacks heart and soul" and concluding that "I was far more emotionally engaged by Franco Faccio's romantically overheated ''
Amleto ''Amleto'' is an opera in four acts by Franco Faccio set to a libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. It premiered on 30 May 1865 at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and was revised for a La Scala production given on 12 ...
'' of 1865 ... than I was by this clean, lean and unambiguous vision of a tragedy that should plumb the darkness of moral life. Cara Chanteau in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' was also generally favourable but expressed a reservation that "for all the intricate care applied to the instrumentation (fruit of Dean's decade playing
viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
in the
Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
), the major motor of the piece remains the wordy libretto rather than any developing musical argument."
Zachary Woolfe Zachary Woolfe is an American music critic who specializes in classical music. Since 2022 he has been chief classical music critic for ''The New York Times''. Education and career Woolfe studied at Princeton University. Although he "had wri ...
in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' considered it "an adaptation ''about'' 'Hamlet' as much as it is an adaptation ''of'' 'Hamlet'." Richard Morrison in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' summed it up as: "Forget Cumberbatch. Forget even Gielgud. I haven't seen a more physically vivid, emotionally affecting or psychologically astute portrayal of the Prince of Denmark than Allan Clayton gives in this sensational production." In 2019, writers of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' ranked ''Hamlet'' the 18th greatest work of art music since 2000, with
Fiona Maddocks Fiona Maddocks is a British music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "one of the UK's leading writers and commentators on classical music", Maddocks has been chief music critic of ''The Observer'' since 2010. She ...
describing it as an "ingenious reworking of Shakespeare".


References


Sources

* With synopsis.
Synopsis
* * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * {{Authority control Operas 2017 operas English-language operas Operas based on Hamlet Compositions by Brett Dean