| Hamlet | |
|---|---|
| Opera byBrett Dean | |
| Librettist | Matthew Jocelyn |
| Language | English |
| Based on | Hamlet by Shakespeare |
| Premiere | |
Hamlet is anopera in two acts by Australian composerBrett Dean, with an Englishlibretto byMatthew Jocelyn, which is based on Shakespeare'splay of the same name. The libretto uses "as little as 20 per cent" of the play's text and also takes inspiration from the "firstquarto" as it "offers a different view on certain moments".[1]
The opera premiered atGlyndebourne Festival on 11 June 2017, directed byNeil Armfield and conducted byVladimir Jurowski.[2] A month later on 6 July, the production was live streamed on Glyndebourne's website free of charge.[3] The production was then presented in 2018 at theAdelaide Festival with Clayton, Gilfry, and Begley from the Glyndebourne cast andCheryl Barker as Gertrude.[4] TheMetropolitan Opera in New York City mounted the Glyndebourne production in May 2022 with several of the original cast members, conducted by Australian conductorNicholas Carter in his Met debut.[5] The production was also seen at theBavarian State Opera inMunich in the summer of 2023 as part of theMunich Opera Festival. Several singers from the premiere were heard in Munich. The performances were a great success with the audience.[6]
| Role | Voice type[2] | Premiere cast, 11 June 2017 Conductor:Vladimir Jurowski |
|---|---|---|
| Hamlet | lyric dramatictenor | Allan Clayton |
| Ophelia | dramaticcoloratura soprano | Barbara Hannigan |
| Claudius | dramaticbass-baritone | Rod Gilfry |
| Gertrude | lyricmezzo-soprano | Sarah Connolly |
| Polonius | character tenor | Kim Begley |
| Horatio | lyricbaritone | Jacques Imbrailo |
| Ghost / Gravedigger / Fourth player | dramaticlow bass | John Tomlinson |
| Laertes | tenor | David Butt Philip |
| Rosencrantz and Guildenstern | countertenors | Rupert Enticknap,Christopher Lowrey |
| Marcellus / Third player | baritone | James Newby |
| First player | tenor | John Findon |
| Second player | tenor | Anthony Osbourne |
Additional roles include an on-stage accordionist (premiere cast:James Crabb). The work is written for large on-stage chorus, as well as an eight-strong 'semi-chorus' in the pit.
Erica Jeal, writing forThe Guardian in 2017, gave a generally favourable review: "Dean's music is many-layered, full of long, clear vocal lines propelled by repeated rhythmic figures in the orchestra, and has moments of delicate beauty ... and the chorus whispers almost as much as it sings."[7]Rupert Christiansen inThe Telegraph noted that the performance appeared to be a hit with the audience—"The first-night audience for Brett Dean's new opera roared its approval so vociferously that I feel almost shame-faced to confess to any reservations about its success"[8]—and complimented it on Dean's music, the actors' vocal performances, and the sound design. However, he was ultimately left cold, saying that "the drama holds attention, but lacks heart and soul" and concluding that "I was far more emotionally engaged by Franco Faccio's romantically overheatedAmleto of 1865 ... than I was by this clean, lean and unambiguous vision of a tragedy that should plumb the darkness of moral life.[8] Cara Chanteau inThe Independent was also generally favourable but expressed a reservation that "for all the intricate care applied to the instrumentation (fruit of Dean's decade playingviola in theBerlin Philharmonic), the major motor of the piece remains the wordy libretto rather than any developing musical argument."[9]Zachary Woolfe inThe New York Times considered it "an adaptationabout 'Hamlet' as much as it is an adaptationof 'Hamlet'."[10]Richard Morrison inThe Times summed it up as: "ForgetCumberbatch. Forget evenGielgud. I haven't seen a more physically vivid, emotionally affecting or psychologically astute portrayal of the Prince of Denmark than Allan Clayton gives in this sensational production."[11]
In 2019, writers ofThe Guardian rankedHamlet the 18th greatest work of art music since 2000, withFiona Maddocks describing it as an "ingenious reworking of Shakespeare".[12]
