An impressive biopic of the great maestro, with a few cracks.Rating
Good!
On the hottest ever recorded summer’s day in the UK, there are worse places to be than in the relatively cool, evening shade of Opera Holland Park. Add to that the easy-listening music of Tchaikovsky being beautifully played by Australian-British classical pianist Jayson Gillham and you have an almost perfect combination. Tchaikovsky – Child of Glass debuts here for three nights with Gillham joined on stage by the supremely talented Tama Matheson, playing out the master musician’s life.
The duo has combined artistic forces once again to direct and create this RPS Storytelling Award-nominated piece. Alongside them are Suzy Kohane and Oliver Holland, both clearly seasoned performers in their own right, portraying here a number of characters, each adding much-welcomed humour and a little slapstick throughout. Last, but by no means least, The Royal Ballet’s Téo Debreuil is ever-present, portraying various love interests for Tchaikovsky over the years.
The vast yet simple staging and lighting here in Holland Park are the perfect backdrop to the story as we kick off, with Matheson as Tchaikovsky telling us what’s to come. He regresses to childhood at one point to introduce his nanny, who provided him with the nickname”‘child of glass”. Not only does this provide the title of the show, but it hints at a somewhat delicate, fragile child, growing up with parents and six siblings.
After being thoroughly bored of life in the civil service, the talented composer can no longer withhold his creative (and other) tendencies and is soon able to forge a living as a musician. It’s from here that we learn of a somewhat tortured soul, pulled in many directions, fighting his real self so as not to displease those around him. Matheson is skilled at portraying a man in emotional turmoil, although regular pauses in the acting allow the music to take centre stage, providing links that help us understand how the maestro created some of his most renowned work through personal upset.
As several love interests come and go, we see Debreuil’s ballet take centre stage. Whilst crafted beautifully, I remained unconvinced of these segments’ relevance to the work, especially when Tchaikovsky becomes actively involved in the choreography. Several other appearances throughout the piece add some flair but feel unnecessary, and it would perhaps be preferable to leave the storytelling to the actors and the music.
Matheson is certainly a man of words and, having written this piece himself, it’s clear that his use of the English language is exemplary, even while playing a Russian in the title role. This, mixed with the huge amount of research on Tchaikovsky, is put to extremely good use in the 2 hours and 15 minutes of this show. It does feel a little too long, and when a 25-minute interval is added, this makes for a rather long evening. Twitchy audience members were spotted, and sadly both parties sitting on either side of me departed during the break.
This is a lovely piece of work, and Matheson is superb. However, keeping the focus on one particular era might work more effectively, with one specific relationship matched against a certain piece of music to explain Tchaikovsky’s process and dynamic for his writing. That said, if you’re a fan of classical music, drama and ballet all in one, this is definitely for you.
Director: Tama Matheson
Music Director: Jayson Gillham
Assistant Director & Choreographer: Stephen Wicks
Tchaikovsky: Child of Glass plays at Opera Holland Park until Saturday 15 August.
