When an opera is based on a comedy, one is entitled to expect at least some trace of humour. A modicum of entertainment, at the very least; laughter would be better still. Ted Huffman’s staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, currently playing at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, despite an economy of means that borders on the extreme, delivers precisely that – and in abundance.

Let us be honest. No aspect of Marsha Ginsberg’s set design truly catches either the eye or the imagination: at most, a cloud appears here, a moon there, while attempts are made to conjure an atmosphere of mystery (successfully so, particularly in the first act) through drifting smoke and lighting effects (D. M. Wood) whose very simplicity proves somewhat disconcerting. Annemarie Woods’s costumes are scarcely more striking: the audience is merely invited to understand that the action unfolds somewhere in the early twentieth century, top hats and moustaches dutifully in place. It convinces, certainly, and never offends the eye, though neither does it surprise. Yet the direction of actors is superb, even within the framework of this revival. What unfolds on stage and in the pit is not merely a cast, but a true ensemble (largely drawn from the members of the DOB ensemble) united with remarkable cohesion, making full use of a carefully calibrated freedom through which wit and refinement go hand in hand from curtain rise to curtain fall.

For Oberon, one would struggle to find an interpreter more ideally suited than the British countertenor Iestyn Davies. Technical accomplishment? Certainly, but that is not what proves decisive here. Rather, it is that innate elegance, that ability to inhabit the character without artificially inflating or constricting either the voice (more ethereal than ever, possessed of a hypnotically androgynous, almost disembodied quality and an unrivalled legato) or the acting, qualities rare enough today to command all the more admiration. His stage partner, Alexandra Oomens, proves no less compelling, bringing Tytania vividly to life. The voice remains crystalline without sacrificing projection, the vocal line consistently adorned with delicacy and even a degree of sensuality, while her stage presence sparkles with vitality and charm. 

The lyricism that Thomas Cilluffo has demonstrated on numerous previous occasions emerges once again here in the role of Lysander, flourishing in a character where charm and tenderness become inseparable. Charged with the vocal side of Hermia (the staged performance having been entrusted to an unfortunately indisposed Anna Werle that evening), Stephanie Wake Edwards displayed complete ease in a role ideally suited to her warm timbre, providing precisely the richness in the middle register the character requires without ever weighing heavily on the ear. 

Dean Murphy (Demetrius) seemed slightly less brilliant than usual, though the voice retained all its nobility. Despite occasionally injecting a touch too much seriousness into her portrayal of Helena, Maria Vasilevskaya nevertheless impressed through a firmly grounded voice, particularly well suited to the nervous declamation the role demands, together with a splendid projection that made for an engaging portrayal of Demetrius’s beloved. 

Patrick Guetti makes light work of Bottom and shines magnificently in a role that might well have been written expressly for him. Without ever sacrificing rhythmic precision, his imposing bass voice blossoms in a resonant lower register that fills the house without ever becoming abrasive, while never relinquishing the carefully measured caricature the role requires. The remaining singers portraying the members of the troupe (Jared Werlein (Quince), Kangyoon Shine Lee (Flute), Joel Allison (Snug), Jörg Schörner (Snout) and Benjamin Dickerson (Starveling)) rise admirably both to their vocal assignments and, above all, to the most improbable situations devised by this reimagined staging. Rare indeed are the occasions on which one hears so much laughter from a euphoric audience during the final act. Padraic Rowan contributes exactly the right measure of theatricality and humour to render Theseus a more sympathetic figure in the eyes of the audience, alongside the noble and dark-hued Hippolyta of Lucy Baker.

Dalia Stasevska draws from the Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, with apparent ease, that transparency so difficult to achieve and yet so essential if the opera is truly to become what it ought to be: a comic fairy tale in which a wide variety of moods coexist and drift apart without ever leaving gaps between the various episodes. A polyphonic reading of exceptional clarity, enriched by an extraordinarily airy texture, sustaining harmonic tension in the impassioned duets between Lysander and Hermia and between Demetrius and Helena, allied to a keen sense of theatrical pacing: such qualities can only delight both those still discovering Britten’s world and those who already hold it dear.

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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Opera in three acts

Libretto by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears after William Shakespeare’s Comedy

First performed on 11 June 1960 at the Aldeburgh Festival

Premiered at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 26 January 2020

Conductor | Dalia Stasevska · Director | Ted Huffman · Set design | Marsha Ginsberg · Costumes | Annemarie Woods · Light design | D. M. Wood · Choreographer | Sam Pinkleton · Choreographer (Puck) | Ran Arthur Braun · Children’s Chorus | Christian Lindhorst

Oberon | Iestyn Davies · Tytania | Alexandra Oomens · Puck | Jami Reid-Quarrell · Theseus | Padraic Rowan · Hippolyta | Lucy Baker · Lysander | Thomas Cilluffo · Demetrius | Dean Murphy · Hermia (singing) | Stephanie Wake-Edwards · Hermia (playing) | Anna Werle · Helena | Maria Vasilevskaya · Bottom | Patrick Guetti · Quince | Jared Werlein · Flute | Kangyoon Shine Lee · Snug | Joel Allison · Snout | Jörg Schörner · Starveling | Benjamin Dickerson · Cobweb | Ksenia Cheskis · Peaseblossom | Shirin Bazyan · Mustardseed | Fe Anouk Löwe · Moth | Qiyue Wu · Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin · Orchestra Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

(For further informations) Link to the Deutsche Oper Berlin: A Midsummer Night’s Dream