Sweeney Todd
Royal Opera House, London

Amy Matthews

Yes, Sweeney Todd is indeed Stephen Sondheim's most operatic musical, but no, this does not mean that it is a natural conclusion, or even a desirable eventuality for the Royal Opera to produce it at Covent Garden.

This whole process, the publicity and hype preceding the opening, smacked of a smug, self-satisfied suggestion that, in some abstract way, the musical work (and perhaps Sondheim himself) ought to be grateful for this marvellous opportunity. A veritable wealth of criticism appeared in most of the broadsheets questioning whether this production would change the nature of the work, or indeed whether it was maybe 'worthy' of an operatic definition anyway. That either of these suggestions is useful or indeed true is doubtful. The idea that Sweeney Todd has suffered too long in silence, ever hoping for an operatic interpretation to lift it out of the mire of musical theatre, is perfectly ridiculous.

The state of musical theatre and its place in the world of arts and culture today is undoubtedly a dire one, and the only new developments on the West End stage for what seems like the past decade consist of Ben Elton-penned compilations of tired eighties classics. But the answer to this is not to take one of the canon of great musicals works and try and give it a revamp, thus proving to the educated arts-going public that 'maybe there is something worthwhile to this musicals lark after all'.

It is unlikely anyway that the intention of the ROH was to single-handedly save the cause of modern musical theatre. I imagine they planned on offering their loyal, moderately discerning, opera-revering audience a chance for some lower-brow entertainment with the guilt-free clauses of the setting, the style of singing, and even surtitles, in case any nuances of one of the most talented lyricists of the later twentieth century accidentally passed them by.

The presentation of the language turned out to be one of the indisputable failings of the production - with an operatic projection, there is simply not the clarity of pronunciation to ensure the snappy delivery necessary for the precise language of Sweeney Todd, and reading a joke two lines before it happens is never as effective as only understanding it in hearing, after the lyrics have skilfully moved on to the next witty manipulation of words, as is the case in so much Sondheim.

Thomas Allen's portrayal of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street was probably the least troublesome from either an operatic or a musical theatre point of view, as much of Sweeney's music lends itself very well to such a voice, and indeed is often sung in an operatically dramatic style in other productions. In contrast, two of the female leads personified the stylistic failure of the production - Felicity Palmer as Mrs Lovett and Rosalind Plowright as the beggar woman lacked the essential quality of larger-than-life performance.

Musical theatre does not demand a constant attempt at caricature, but it does rely on a certain degree of exaggeration, epitomised in the character of Lovett, and virtually non-existent in the performances of Palmer or Plowright, leaving both parts unconvincing and lacking in impact or depth.

Overall, this production did no favours for Sondheim, Covent Garden or the performers involved, and, in its attempts to moderate between the dichotomy of opera and musical theatre, it failed to achieve anything for either side.

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