THE GREAT GATSBY • OPERAEN
★★★★★★
Photo: Camilla Winther
REVIEW THE GREAT GATSBY: SPECTACULAR THEATRICAL MAGIC FOR SIX STARS
The Opera’s grand, jazzy dance production of the classic The Great Gatsby is an eminently entertaining showbiz extravaganza, created from the stuff that the American dream is made of, and which we all loved before it all went downhill. A truly outstanding production that offers theatre magic for a wide audience.
Photo: Camilla Winther
Fabulous dance numbers in Arthur Pita’s grand, breathtaking choreography unfold in Gary McCann’s magnificent costumes and generous set design, which takes us from Jay Gatsby’s wonderfully exaggerated, neoclassical Long Island mansion to the antithesis of wealth in the shabby petrol station, where the owner’s under-stimulated wife sets the plot alight with her fiery desire, swaying hips and irresistibly long legs.
Photo: Camilla Winther
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s monumental novel The Great Gatsby celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and you are of course already familiar with the plot from the classic film adaptations starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow (1974) and Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan (2013).
Among the highlights at the Opera House are the debauchery at the glamorous speakeasy during Prohibition, where lavish parties are held on the brink of disaster while the American dream slowly dies.
Photo: Camilla Winther
The staging skilfully blends beautiful video graphics with impressive set pieces, including the iconic optician’s sign with “God’s gaze”, which observes the impossible love story between the seemingly somewhat woolly billionaire Gatsby and the love of his life, the beautiful but also somewhat self-absorbed Daisy Buchanan.
The portrayal of the moral decay that pervades the story of human, social and economic derailment in 1920s America has long made the novel a masterpiece of world literature.
The fall from grace is a fact when Gatsby is murdered in his pool out of jealousy, and what started as a joyful first-class party ends in poignant melancholy. The simultaneously roaringly festive and deeply sad story stays with you long after you finish reading, and I still can’t put it down.
Photo: Camilla Winther
It is all framed by a well-crafted selection of Gershwin’s symphonic jazz classics, led by Rhapsody in Blue, mixed with uptempo big band-style dance numbers in “Gatsby style” that are simply irresistible.
Six stars from Got to see this for a dazzlingly beautiful performance that will draw full houses – hurry to get your tickets!
