In fact, the audience sees itself in the reflective panels in the last act, giving the illusion of a “theater within a theater” like the play Pyramus and Thisbe played by the troupe of artisans suggests this. It is perhaps also an allusion to Shakespeare's famous “Globe Theatre”, which is circular in shape.
A ballet of firefly elves under the starry sky
The beauty of the costumes designed by Laurent Pelly and the element of the unreal – with a large part devoted to the lights adjusted by Michel Le Borgne – pleasantly tickle the senses. The show opens with the nocturnal ballet of elves and fairies. We are immediately captivated by the voices of children, whose white faces stand out against a black sky studded with moving stars. It looks like a squadron of fireflies.
Then appear King Oberon and his wife Tytania, the queen of the fairies, bickering in the air about the appropriation of a young page – already an erotic component. They are perched at the end of mobile cranes that move them from one point to another, arms articulated invisibly by an army of machinists. It's quite spectacular.
We dive into this dreamlike world with its parts of shadows and lights. Working in the service of King Oberon and called upon to manipulate the desires of young people, the elf Puck – half-gnome, half-human wonderfully played by Faith Prendergast – makes a mistake when he administers a magical herb to sleeping lovers. The two couples (Lysander/Hermia, Demetrius/Helena) are mixed up, and that's when a mess of feelings begins.
Terrific Bottom in red overalls
Exit the enchanted forest, the plateau is bare. There are barely any beds to suggest the emotions – or rather the lovemaking – of the protagonists dressed in pajamas. Because beyond feeling, it is eros which governs their conduct. An element of nudity infests the room to add a touch of eroticism veering towards burlesque when the queen of the fairies finds herself in Bottom's arms. Marie-Eve Munger, with a luscious voice, plays Tytania wonderfully. Admirable performance by bass baritone David Ireland as Bottom, wearing a donkey's head, whose ardor we can guess under the pants.
It is this journey to the heart of human desire that Laurent Pelly shows us, with the added bonus of the play Pyramus and Thisbe in the last act. A large oblique mirror allows us to glimpse the six artisans in full preparation, changing hastily, before entering the stage. They multiply their blunders, in their makeshift disguises, under the amused eye of King Theseus, Queen Hippolyta, and the two couples of reconstituted lovers. The spectators in the room laugh heartily, joining the spectators on the stage, in an intriguing complicity.
A prodigious orchestra
There is no weak link in the cast with the excellent countertenor Christopher Lowrey as Oberon. The Opera Master's degree at the Lausanne Opera Conservatory is remarkably prepared. Conductor Guillaume Tourniaire orchestrates the entire show with flair and talent, at the head of a prodigiously responsive Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, with remarkable solo interventions (strings, winds and percussion). We leave this performance dazzled by so much poetry – and we say to ourselves that this type of chamber opera corresponds perfectly to the dimensions of the Lausanne Opera.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Opéra de Lausanne, until December 31.
