Festen

Opera world premieres are not frequent these days. A triumphant world premiere is like finding a diamond in a wood. In this case the diamond glitters with the horror of incest, sexual abuse and suicide. Yet such is the power of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s music that the blackness of the central story is given a sardonic humour and melodic lightness which makes it not only shocking but entertaining, even dazzling.

Taking the same form as Thomas Vinterberg’s 1998 film, Festen, it is set during the 60th birthday celebrations of a family man, Helge, his wife, parents, friends, and three of his children, Christian, Helena and Michael. The fourth, Linda, has died recently. The atmosphere is heady from the start, the music strong and repetitive and making use of the eighty chorus and principals on stage to sing a sizzling round on the word ‘Hello’. A rollicking party is ahead. Yet already Turnage is setting us on edge with a feeling of overkill, jazz notes somewhere, while the guests and hosts seem on the edge of hysteria.
In these opening minutes, the audience is gripped, in the way a horror movie can grip, with a sense of excited foreboding. This tension, despite a couple of gentle arias which arise out of darkness, never lets up for one hour forty minutes. Rightly, Festen has no interval.

Yet there is one area of stillness and silence: wherever Helge, sung by Gerald Finley, may be. It is, of course, the vacuum of evil. But the high-spirited celebrations continues, including a whole-cast riff on the word ‘soup’ until Christian, the eldest brother, sung by Allan Clayton, stands up to make his speech. It feels like the climax of the piece, breaking normal rules by coming so early but in fact it is setting the template for the rest of the opera. Evil is revealed in melody, and in unadorned, non-confrontational words. Both he and his sister Linda were abused by their father as children. The truth is plain. It is a heart-stopping moment beautifully performed and sung by Clayton whose simplicity proclaims his goodness, surviving despite his father.

This a very modern story, both of confrontation and denial for, even after the revelation, celebrations continue, and the pace becomes more hectic still, rising to a rollicking rumba. The libretto by Lee Hall in English, is extremely important, very nearly as important as the music. Often it seems to be taking its rhythms from the music and, perhaps, vice versa. In fact, it is clear from various interviews with Turnage and Hall, that it is impossible to separate the two. Composer and Librettist worked so closely together so that sometimes the plot leads, and sometimes the music.

Presumably, they also agreed on the changed ending from the original film, so that the opera continues inexorably with the theme of denial, even though a letter proves that Helga’s daughter, Linda, committed suicide because of his abuse. As Hall says, ‘the whole piece becomes about much more than these individuals and tragedies. It becomes an indictment of the collective act of denial.’ Helge’s wife laughs and drinks, even after Christian has confronted her own connivance in the abuse.

The further revelation of Linda’s suffering before her death, leads Helge’s previously supportive son, Michael, sung with convincing violence by Stephane Degout, to physically attack his father. Yet, Helge survives, and, the morning after the celebration, (Festen in Danish) the guests, however shaken, carry on as if nothing surprising had happened Turnage says, ‘People might know the film and think, “That’s grim” but I hope they will be surprised. This not a grim 90 minutes in the theatre.’ Indeed it is not. Director Richard Jones, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, describes the story as ‘thrilling and audacious’ which gets near the truth. But, however entertaining its stageing and sardonic humour, it remains a tragedy. The only breath of hope comes from the dead Linda, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, singing sweetly and quoting those great lines from Julian of Norwich, ‘And all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’ Turnage claims this as the climax of the opera - the redemption of the victim.

Throughout the opera the singing and acting, even in the briefest of roles, is filled with energy and focus. The set is designed by Miriam Buether in smart hotel style and supports the story admirably. The constant movement of the large cast under Movement Director, Lucy Burge, echoes the fast pace of the music, splendidly conducted by Edward Gardner.
Festen is an ROH triumph which will doubtless reach the world stage and mark a new high in Mark-Antony Turnage’s career.

Music: Mark- Anthony Turnage Libretto: Lee Hall
Based on film, Festen by Thomas Vinterberg
Conductor: Edward Gardner Director: Richard Jones