★★★½☆ Glorious music-making carries the day despite a clunky plot and static staging.

Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
July 26, 2016

Moffatt Oxenbould’s production of Verdi’s politically-charged opera Simon Boccanegra premiered in 2000 as part of Sydney’s Olympic Arts Festival, with Simone Young conducting. This is the first time Opera Australia has revived it since, with director Matthew Barclay at the helm.

It’s not the most dynamic production, it has to be said, and with its convoluted, sometimes half-baked plot, you can see why the opera itself is not among Verdi’s most popular and regularly performed works. However, there is some magnificent music and the quality of the singing and orchestral playing makes for a rewarding night.

Set in 14th-century Genoa, Simon Boccanegra is a dark opera with a complex, sprawling story in which the personal and the political intertwine. Equal parts political thriller, historical drama, melodrama and romance, it takes place in a treacherous world where men jostle for power and animosities fester. The cut and thrust of intrigue, revenge and retribution is leavened by love, moral redemption and reconciliation.

Diego Torre, George Petean and Natalie Aroyan

Verdi and...