Lester Lynch and Susan Bullock in Bartok's opera Bluebeard's Castle. Photo: Supplied
Daisy Evans is more than happy to update an old opera to modern times, but not if it means sticking to the original libretto.
Setting Don Giovanni in a 2020s reality TV dating show - sure. But not if they're singing the original 18th-century text.
If opera singers are going to look like bogans, there's no point in them speaking like they're out of a Voltaire play.
Director Daisy Evans. Photo: Supplied
The UK-based Evans is in New Zealand to direct Bartok's musical psycho-drama "Bluebeard's Castle" with an updated narrative that sets it not in a castle that hides terrible secrets behind a series of closed doors, but in a modern suburban home with an elderly couple dealing with memory loss.
The idea was Evans' own, and it's not the only time she's changed an opera's narrative. When faced with the underlying misogyny in Mozart's The Magic Flute, she rejigged the story by transforming the leads, Tamina and Tamino, into children who may (or may not) be non-binary in a binary world.
And she's more than happy to cop a bit of flack from those who criticise her for not following the wishes of the composer. Opera, as far as Evans is concerned, is a living art form, and change is part of life.
Evans spoke to RNZ Concert about her of love of opera which goes back to childhood, her approach to directing, and her interest in bringing opera to a younger audience.
Her main vehicle for that is Silent Opera, a company she helped to set up, which delivers opera through headphones.
'Silent operas' usually take place anywhere but an opera house - everything from a tunnel to a railway station - where singers perform live to a pre-recorded orchestral soundtrack.
Only those with headphones on can hear the action.
Evans says it works well with younger people (folk under 30) because it takes the opera out of its usual space, which also means the listener doesn't have to worry about the usual opera etiquette. Want to eat chips? No problem, none of the other listeners will hear you.
Bluebeard's Castle is on as part of the Auckland Arts Festival in the Auckland Town Hall. Performances are on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 March.
