Midsummer Night’s Dream

Oh wouldn't you like to hear the sweet bells ring

Oh don’t you wish that you could hear them ring

In a spine-tingling otherworldly fairy kingdom, a group of bumbling thespians and two confused pairs of lovers are mocked, prodded and made use of by merciless and self-absorbed spirits of the woods. Constance and I love the music of Benjamin Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, which raises the hairs on the back of our necks one minute and infects us with helpless laughter the next.

That will only happen when the faeries sing

Pacific Opera Victoria’s production was curious, with a set draped in white gauze curtains upon which tree-ish shapes, leaves and points of light were projected, I found it a bit domestic, perhaps it was meant to make you think of nights and dreams…but I would rather have been temporarily lost in a forest than in a bedroom.

However, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening out, with all characters including the charming children’s chorus singing ethereally, stolidly or passionately as their roles required. We adored the wonderful Robin Goodfellow tumbling, teasing and making “mistooks”. Thank you William Shakespeare for the wonderful story, and Happy Birthday To You!

Constance is listening to the Lily of the Valley tinkling in the breeze – the fairies must be singing again!

To view Constance’s other opera reviews go to this link

Tags: doll, Opera, opera reviews, pacific opera victoria, POV, Quimper Hitty, Quimperhitty

10 thoughts on “Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Becky on April 23, 2016 at 10:22 am said:

This is lovely…how thoughtful of you to review it for us…and see Constance amongst those beautiful ringing little bells.

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- Quimper Hitty on April 23, 2016 at 9:14 pm said:
  
  We find pleasure in going to the opera- and seeing a live production is best of all. We don’t qualify as experts, but we don’t mind sharing our observations.
  
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Ann Stroupe on April 23, 2016 at 4:31 pm said:

Love, love, love her pleated dress! What a great dress to don for the opera!!

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- Quimper Hitty on April 23, 2016 at 9:15 pm said:
  
  Our Hitty friend Sherry gave us the wonderful musical fabric – Constance loves her dress too! It was temporarily lost last week, but turned up in time for this event!
  
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Sherry on April 23, 2016 at 4:57 pm said:

Always a pleasure to hear your reviews of the weekend operas. The sight of Constance so engrossed in the stories is a added plus. Love the touch of the ringing “bells”.

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- Quimper Hitty on April 23, 2016 at 9:17 pm said:
  
  We were reminded of the “White Coral Bells” song by our Hitty friend Mary Anne – and we certainly heard the faeries singing last night!
  
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tottietalkscrafts on April 23, 2016 at 7:47 pm said:

Delightful!!!

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- Quimper Hitty on April 23, 2016 at 9:17 pm said:
  
  Thank you! We thought so!
  
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Mary Anne on April 25, 2016 at 2:09 am said:

No fairy kingdom would be complete without ♫White Coral Bells Ringing♫ when the fairies sing. This was very special.

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- Quimper Hitty on April 25, 2016 at 7:55 am said:
  
  Thank you 🙂 you helped make it special by reminding me of the sweet song!
  
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