OPINION The key to NZ Opera ’s sparkling Le comte Ory lies with conductor Brad Cohen, who was once involved with a production of this Rossini opera that was like walking into “the most fantastic party in full swing”. Cohen and an almost totally home-grown cast achieved this on Thursday night, romping through a bold Downunder update by director Simon Phillips that replaces castles with wellness retreats and crusading knights with rugby players. Rossini’s penultimate opera, written for sophisticated Parisian audiences, might have seemed a perilous choice for these times, tackling the machinations of a ruthless, womanising nobleman, but it worked splendidly.
Much of that was due to Manase Latu’s charm as the profligate Ory, quite the comedian in a plot that could have fuelled a Feydeau farce. His first challenging aria showcased his musician-esque tenor against the finessed backdrop of Auckland Philharmonia . Emma Pearson as Adele complemented a gift for physical comedy with a cool, clear soprano that was a total joy from her first aria - even if it was sometimes undercut by audience laughter provoked by the director’s own surtitles, a veritable lexicon of Kiwi vernacular, sometimes on the coarse side.
Could any baritone have opened proceedings more rousingly than Moses Mackay as Raimbaud, balanced by Andrea Creighton’s savvy Ragonde, Adele’s put-upon PA? Wade Kernot was in strong form as the co-owner of Chateau Whareora, the so-named wellness retreat. Hanna Hipp.
