Opera North Is Having A Midsummer Night's Dream

It is extraordinary to think that all three hours of Britten's libretto for A Midsummer Night's Dream are based exclusively on Shakespeare's text, with just one line added to make the opera work.

First performed on 11th June 1960 in Aldeburgh to celebrate the re-opening of the Jubilee Hall, this is Opera North's revival, directed on this occasion by Matthew Eberhardt, with set design by Johan Engels and costume design by Ashley Martin-Davis.

Set in the 1960s, the costumes are a thing of beautiful psychedelic madness; delightfully and colourfully extravagant. The set, on the other hand, is a very pared-down affair consisting mostly of hanging sheets of translucent plastic - I suppose all those recycled bottles have to go somewhere.

Opera North Music Director Garry Walker conducts a cast including James Laing, Henry Waddington and Daniel Abelson who reprise their roles as Oberon, Bottom and Puck, alongside Daisy Brown who returns to Opera North to take on the role of Tytania.

Are you sure That we are awake? It seems to me That yet we sleep, we dream.

The Fairies' King and Queen, Oberon and Tytania, are embroiled in a furious domestic dispute. Oberon commands his faithful spirit Puck to apply a magical flower's juice to Tytania's eyes as she sleeps. She'll wake up and fall head over heels in love with the first creature she sees.

Back in the human world, there exists a 'love square' with both Lysander and Demetrius in love with Hermia, but neither one wants Helena. Oberon sees this drama and commands Puck to resolve the problem using the same magic potion. However, the fairy chooses the wrong man; one small mistake, and complete mayhem results.

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• James Laing as Oberon and Daisy Brown at Tytania
• Siân Griffiths as Hermia and Peter Kirk as Lysander
• Henry Waddington as Nick Bottom and Daisy Brown as Tytania with the children of A Midsummer Night’s Dream cast as Fairies
• James Newby as Demetrius, Peter Kirk as Lysander, Siân Griffiths as Hermia and Camilla Harris as Helena
• Nicholas Butterfield as Robin Starveling, Frazer Scott as Snug, Nicholas Watts as Francis Flute, Henry Waddington as Nick Bottom, Colin Judson as Tom Snout and Dean Robinson as Peter Quince

With Henry Waddington as Bottom, the weaver, delivering his bass-baritone comedy with perfection and actor Daniel Abelson making such an animated Puck, there was much to enjoy here. Without Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream might have been a pretty cheesy little story, but Abelson's Puck occupies a hinterland between Tolkein's Golum and Lewis' Mr Tumnus, adding a suitably anarchic edge to the production.

The four lovers all performed beautifully but I must admit to liking the smooth Mezzo Soprano of Siân Griffiths (Hermia) in particular. Tenor Peter Kirk (Lysander) and baritone James Newby (Demetrius) made fine fighting rivals, and soprano Camilla Harris (Helena) used her voice and charisma to play the underdog with doe-eyed appeal.

Opera North's A Midsummer Night's Dream makes for a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with plenty of laughs, some great orchestral work, and plenty of character roles to enjoy.

A Midsummer Night's Dream continues at venues around the north until 20th November 2024. Details can be found on the Opera North website.