Left – Tod StrikeThe Sydney Town Hall is a spectacular looking concert venue but I couldn’t help thinking perhaps not the most acoustically kind or intimate of venues for this edited excepts version of Harvey Milk the opera, presented by Left Bauer Productions and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir.
Overall I wasn’t quite sure what I was meant to be seeing. Was it a vehicle to entertain family and friends of the choir? A preview to gain support for a full staging? A vehicle to showcase some fine voices from a multiplicity of genres?
Or all of the above.
I have to declare from the outset I am not a music reviewer and cannot in fairness claim to critique the nuance of opera. So I can only comment on the general experience of this concert. Musically I confess I was only rarely engaged by the work, however was often moved by fine performances from the leads, who made the most of each moment. Dimity Shepherds ‘Silence’ was quite riveting. And Chris Cartner on Piano certainly worked hard and to great effect as a one keyboard Orchestra.
What I couldn’t quite fathom was why the voices were cast so unevenly. The establishment characters were all trained Opera voices. While the two gay men – Harvey and his partner Scott were drawn from from the Music Theatre genre. Two damn fine voices, both with an intelligent actor’s sensibility – I loved the performances of Tod Strike and Edward Grey in these roles respectively. But unamplified and pitched against the passionate and convincing opera resonance of Jacob Caine as Dan White, and the rich mellow strength of Jud Arthur as Mayor Moscone they didn’t stand a chance dramatically. The title character appeared weaker than his opponents, and in a story about revolution and human rights that was a key production error for me. It is a perfectly understandable choice to cast different vocal styles to delineate the cultural or character differences, but to make the drama of the piece work, I also thought they needed to engage a sound engineer to balance the vocals. Or decide which genre you are in and match the voices accordingly.
Which brings me to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir. It was a really laudable undertaking for this group to take on a piece of this nature. But I believe if you want to walk this road then at least wear the right shoes. I understand and support the need to embrace diversity and encourage participation. But I felt the choir was so intent on being diverse and individual they did not do justice to either their role as a choir or as the chorus of a work of theatre, even within a concert format. It added cabaret to an already stylistically confusing evening.
So I left unsatisfied that I hadn’t really got a fair look at this work. I saw some really talented people, heard some really wonderful voices, but left unsure whether Harvey Milk was an opera I wanted to hear any more of. Maybe the mix worked in Melbourne with different elements – my understanding is that this concert received a very positive response when staged for Midsumma. However I did certainly leave with the knowledge that I would want to watch a show with any of these lead performers again at a moments notice.
Left Bauer Productions and the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir present
Harvey Milk
Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie
Director Cameron Lukey
Venue: Sydney Town Hall | 483 George Street Sydney, NSW
Dates: 15 November 2015
Bookings: www.eventbrite.com.au
