Opera Reviews
29 March 2024
Untitled Document
Hamlet doesn't deserve the bum rap
by Steve Cohen

Thomas: Hamlet
Metropolitan Opera
April 2010

Photo: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan OperaBecause some of the most emotionally rewarding experiences of my life have been performances of Hamlet, the play, I did not expect to enjoy Hamlet, the seldom-performed opera by Ambrose Thomas. Nevertheless, I was surprisingly happy with what I saw at the Metropolitan Opera and on its HD broadcast to cinemas.

True, it is not a great opera when compared to Gounod's Faust, and it is not great drama when compared to Shakespeare's play. But Thomas's Hamlet has been given a bum rap by critics. It is especially appealing on cinema screens. When seen in close-up, the opera is even more effective than in person.

I can't recall a Met season with as many cast changes as this, especially in its new productions. Leading roles were filled by substitutes in Hoffman, Carmen, Attila - and then Hamlet. The drawing card for this production was Natalie Dessay, who was to play Ophelia. When Dessay withdrew two weeks before the premiere because of an undisclosed illness, she was replaced with the relatively-unknown Marlis Petersen. Simon Keenlyside, the Hamlet, is respected by connoisseurs but does not yet have star status with the public. All of this diminished the production's appeal.

It was, however, worth the effort. The story of a man burdened by responsibilities is unceasingly fascinating. There is a dramatic flow to the action even though the librettist rearranged Shakespearian scenes. For example, the "To be or not to be" soliloquy comes after the play-within-the-play. Characters have been eliminated and the relationship of Polonius to Ophelia is given an odd alternate significance. Yet it works. Remember that Hamlet was a subject for a play before Shakespeare (the legend of Amleth,) and even the Bard had an earlier version that was popular enough to merit his decision to rewrite it and create the classic that we know today.

In this serious opera, written when Thomas was 57, he became an exponent of dramatic underscoring rather than catchy hit songs. His music furthers the action although there are few big tunes.

It is a long hour and twelve minutes into the opera before we hear Hamlet's catchy drinking song, "Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse." A less-familiar but quite striking passage occurs few minutes later when a saxophone solo introduces the staging of the fictional murder. An entire act, of course, is devoted to Ophelia's well-known mad scene. Petersen was adequate as Ophelia but not spectacular.

Keenlyside, however, is a major presence. From a distance he looks a bit like Jude Law, who played Hamlet in London and New York. Keenlyside's interpretation is more athletic than brooding; he is a man of action but just can't find the right moment to carry out his plans. His voice is rich and even and I look forward to seeing more of him in standard roles in the future, such as Rodrigo in a new production of Verdi's Don Carlo at the Met.

The production used big flat panels that dwarfed the actors. Thankfully, the video focused on faces rather than the sets. When this is telecast and issued on DVD, it is worth seeing.

Photo: © Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera
Text: © Steve Cohen
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