By Michael Shmith
OPERA
'TIS PITY: AN OPERATIC FANTASIA ON SELLING THE SKIN AND THE TEETH ★★★
Meow Meow, Opera Victoria
Melbourne Recital Centre
Until February 8
The energetic and impassioned Richard Mills, artistic director of Victorian Opera, knows no bounds. 'Tis Pity, written (Mills says in a program note) at breakneck speed last November, is a fast and furious work which, while not entirely satisfying, is blessed with the presence of that fine cabaret artiste, Meow Meow.
Revealing romp: Karen Breen and Meow Meow in Victoria Opera's 'Tis Pity: An Operatic Fantasia on Selling the Skin and the Teeth. Credit:Pia Johnson
The objective of this Song Cycle in Ten Vignettes is to whizz through the history of prostitution in little more than an hour – a quickie, if ever there was. Mills, not content with merely composing and arranging, also conducts the whole shebang, utilising a full-size Orchestra Victoria. The scoring, by the by, includes the effectively spectral presence of the whooping, whining Ondes Martenot, one of Messiaen's favoured instruments.
'Tis Pity is indeed a romp. Its best moments occur when Meow Meow and the highly sprung tenor Kanen Breen, aided and abetted by three dancers, do their best to restrain their shenanigans and make serious points about the perils of a historic and highly dangerous trade. Otherwise, this harlot's hurtle down the ages is depicted as a wild and desperate business, conducted in various tongues and sung in myriad styles. The result, more often than not, is comically haphazard and too fast for its own good.
The Elisabeth Murdoch Hall is not the best place for a whorehouse. Director Cameron Menzies did his best with the narrow performing space in front of the orchestra, but the production really needed a cabaret-style venue to bring the audience closer and make its points more telling, more vivid.