★★☆☆☆
At the climax, with the scuttling disembodied hand, the boy on my left leant forward, face glowing with wonder. He was clearly experiencing magic. A good augury, you might think, for the Royal Opera House’s new British opera — planned for young audiences, based on a hugely popular book and cannily premiered to coincide with the Easter holiday.
Even so, I’m not convinced that Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Coraline, adapted from the striking children’s novel by Neil Gaiman, successfully does what it means to do. What gripped the young audience on press night was clearly the narrative that they knew in advance.
It’s the story of young Coraline Jones, newly moved house, living with distracted parents, who initially finds comfort in a parallel world beyond