Well! Our visit to English National Opera to see Duke Bluebeard's Castle and the Rite of Spring yesterday evening was very enjoyable and both productions of these early 20th century masterpieces were really first rate.
I have to admit I was rather concerned since the critics, while on the whole complimentary, had made it clear that the audience was not in for a conventional evening out. One commentator implied that the two different producers were vying with one another to shock, and this can sometimes result in a rather uncomfortable audience experience.
I remember one evening some years ago at the ENO when I went alone to see Verdi's Masked Ball. Before the performance started I got talking to a very nice respectable man sitting next to me. The production was VERY explicit, and I found it cringeingly embarrassing sharing the experience with a total stranger!
Anyway, I had no worries this time. Although some aspects of the show were shocking and/or strange, as might be guessed from the men wearing dog's heads in the image from the Rite of Spring, above, I felt that there was nothing that was not justified by the nature of the underlying works.
I think that the most electrifying moment for the audience was when one of the cast lit a cigarette on the stage in the Rite of Spring. She was swiftly copied by most of the cast and clouds of smoke enveloped the first few rows of the stalls. In our new smoke free world this seemed exceptionally shocking and I came out of the theatre wondering whether smoking is now the new great taboo.
