In the words of Paul Kildea, Artistic Director of Musica Viva Australia and the author of the book of the same name this performance was adapted from, this concert is, “a relatively simple idea: use a single instrument to tell the story of Romantic music, not least because of the cultural significance this instrument acquired over time”.
Kildea likens Chopin’s Piano to a “musical Raiders of the Lost Ark. And it brings in an amazing array of characters: Chopin, George Sand, Wanda Landowska, Himmler …”
Pianist Aura Go and actor Jennifer Vuletic, he adds, “tell the story of this singular instrument, the works composed on it and the artist who created them, and the changing value of music over time”.
What we got, though, was a frankly abominable script that vacillated between on-the-nose lectures and cartoonish caricature.
Jennifer Vuletic and Aura Go perform Chopin’s Piano. Aaron Francis Photography/Musica Viva Australia
It’s hard to overstate just how much I disliked the dialogue throughout. Whoever decided it was a good idea to have Vuletic and Go play these roles with accents needs to take a long, hard look at themselves.
It started, for instance, with Vuletic...
We attended the performance of Chopin’s Piano in Sydney last night. Such a huge disappointment as there was a total absence of dramatic cohesion and theatrical integrity. Characterisations were shallow and impossibly unwieldy for two performers. Shaping of dramatic action was poor as there was no central thread or direction. We were transported every time Aura Go played, and yet we were bracing for the next dramatic interruption to the music. The structure of the script and dialogue is weak and works against the sublime performance of the Preludes. We left immediately at interval. Couldn’t bear the idea of ACT II. I would have preferred to listen to Aura Go play Chopin’s Preludes without interruption.
On the fifty minute train trip home, I had to calm myself with Stephen Hough playing Chopin’s Ballades.
I didn’t find the review until today. Totally in agreement. What a disastrous translation of idea to script to stage.