The key reason for going to Melbourne this time was to see the musical Hadestown.
It was created by the singer/songwriter Anais Mitchell in the 2000s but it feels very ‘of the moment’. The Australian production is the original Broadway show recreated by Opera Australia with Australian singers/performers/musicians who are, in my opinion, even more skilled than those I’ve listened to on the Broadway and West End soundtracks.
The story is of Orpheus, the musician, and his love Eurydice. It’s a story of gods oppressing mortals. It’s a story of the power of art. It’s a Greek myth that’s inspired operas and novels, poems and films. My favourite TV series of last year Kaos also featured this story.
Two of my favourite retellings are poems. There’s an exquisite moment of deep hurt in Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes. Orpheus travels to the underworld to rescue Eurydice. After using music to soften the heart of the god Hades, he’s allowed to take her out as long as he walks without looking back. And of course, the result is tragedy. This is how Rilke captures that moment:
“ And when all at once the god stopped
her, and with pain in his voice
spoke the words: he has turned around–,
she couldn't grasp this and quietly said: who?”
On the other hand, Carol Ann Duffy has a completely different take on the subject. She sees Eurydice as fleeing Orpheus’ oppressive stalking.
What’s impressive about Mitchell’s work is that she’s retold this well known story with a new flavour - music that captures the railroad songs of America’s prisoner/slaves, of folk sounds and New Orlean’s inspired jazz riffs. Her vision of hell is a world where Hades in his darkness creates foundries and things of steel, mines and power grids, an oppressive industrial landscape with the dead put to work. He sings a song about Building a wall - a wall to keep us free, a world to keep out poverty, a wall to keep out those who want what we have. Sound familiar?
If you have a chance to see this musical or even listen to the music, I highly recommend it. And in case you doubt my exquisite good taste here’s a reviewer that travelled across state borders to see the show - again.
Luckily for us, another show about death opened in Melbourne last week: Eddie Perfect’s Beetlejuice. We saw that the day after Hadestown and the differences couldn’t be more startling. One was moving and the other entertaining. One was full of memorable songs. The other was full of memorable laughs. Both of them were full of talent. I remember seeing Mr Perfect perform at Malthouse at the beginning of his career and still have some CDs from that time. He was magical to watch on stage and I hope the three children sitting in front of carry the memory of his genius throughout their lives.
A great weekend in this city full of theatres.
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