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A Fairy Good Time Wexford
The Grain Store at Stonebridge
10/17/2025 - & October 17, 21, 24, 28, November 1*, 2025
Benjamin Britten: A Little Midsummer Night’s Dream, Opus 64
Laura Aherne/Jane Burnell* (Tytania), Adam McDonagh (Oberon), Maria Matthews/Ami Hewitt* (Helena), Valeria Gorbunova (Hermina), Rory Lynch (Lysander), David Kennedy (Demetrius), Peter McCamley (Puck), Rory Musgrave (Bottom), Joshua McCullough (Quince)
Brenton Ryan (Flute), Christopher Knopp (Piano, Music Director)
Heather Hadrill (Stage Director), Frances White (Costumes), Elisabeth Drwal (Movement coordinator)
V. Gorbunova (© Pádraig Grant)
One of the four “Factory Operas” given by the Wexford Festival of Opera, Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, elicited doubts as to how it could be abridged to fit Wexford’s criteria: that it should last no more than ninety minutes; that it mustn’t have an intermission; that all roles are to be assumed only by current or former singers of the Wexford Factory program for young singers; and that it would be presented with piano (rather than orchestral) accompaniment.
Happily, my own fears were unfounded, and the experience was delightful. Firstly, the young singers of the program showed they were up for the task. The demanding role of Oberon, that Britten had written for the unique voice of Alfred Deller (1912‑1979), found its champion in Irish countertenor Adam McDonagh, who had the voice for the role, an “English” countertenor à la Deller, rather than an operatic countertenor specializing in Vivaldi and Handel. McDonagh was also a first‑rate actor, regal in comportment, and clearly reveled in his mischief.
The role of Tytania, written for coloratura soprano Jennifer Vyvyan (1925‑1974), was sung by Jane Burnell with exquisite panache. She had been a luminous Madame Folleville in the previous day’s Il viaggio a Reims. Not only was her voice ideally suited for the role, but her demeanour was truly regal. Few can incarnate a queen with such ease. This natural grace was also noted in Rossini’s opera. Her dress and Oberon’s garb were stunningly beautiful. Costume designer Frances White obviously has impeccable taste and an imagination to match.
Irish director Heather Hadrill knew how to imbue the Fairies with magic, a natural vocation in the land of elves, goblins and the like. This highly intelligent condensation of the opera is a risky enterprise, given that Britten’s work already omits half of the Shakespeare play on which it’s based. A contrario, this abridgment rendered the convoluted plot more concise and easier to follow, even for a novice to both the opera and the play.
Even before the performance started, magic was in the air, thanks to the decidedly intimate choice of venue. The Grain Store at Stonebridge is a wooden, rectangular room with pillars, seating no more than eighty spectators. With tastefully original decoration both onstage and throughout the room, there was a mystical atmosphere: garlands; tree trunks serving as seats (for the singers, not the audience, mercifully); brilliantly colourful lights on stage, and in crowns distributed to some in the audience. One felt transported to childhood and left in the company of fairies.
The pixies were enacted by mostly mature citizens of the community. Their enthusiasm in taking part in this artistic endeavour was palpable, enhancing our enjoyment.
The transformation of Bottom into an ass was achieved thanks to a wire‑frame mask. Irish baritone Rory Musgrave incarnated a sympathetic Bottom with a flair for comedy. His donkey‑like inflections were most amusing, thanks to his subtle underplaying of the comedic aspect.
Irish actor Peter McCamley was a formidable Puck, a man/fairy possessed, too eager to please his King. Though sexual innuendo was avoided, the nature of Puck’s relationship with Oberon was alluded to by conveying excessive devotion and by Puck’s delight in drugging Tytania and playing a cruel joke on her.
The quartet of young lovers seemed to have a grand time acting their roles. Russian mezzo Valeria Gorbunova, endowed with a stately presence and aristocratic demeanour, portrayed a noble Hermina. She was highly believable conveying her incredulity after first being the object of desire of both her lover Demetrius (with whom she had eloped) as well as her persistent admirer Lysander, only to then be ignored by both. Likewise, Irish soprano Ami Hewitt was convincing in her astonishment at Lysander’s sudden interest in her, and Demetrius’s change of heart. Irish tenor Rory Lynch was a charming Lysander. Irish baritone David Kennedy was a smashing Demetrius, an understandable target of Helena’s attention. Puck’s bungling of the love potion caused pandaemonium among the four young people. Helena’s incredulity at being pursued by the two men was at turns both hilarious and poignant.
Canadian director Christopher Knopp, previously admired in his dual roles as both pianist and musical director of Der Zwerg one day earlier, easily sailed into Britten’s musical world with aplomb. While a piano reduction does not do the work justice, Knopp’s masterful playing showed his obvious affinity for Britten’s marvellous music and its mysterious subtleties.
The last part of the opera contains the enactment of a play within a play, “Pyramus and Thisbe” (best known as the tragic lovers from Ovid’s narrative poem Metamorphoses), and concerns the reconciliation of Oberon and Tytania. This section of the work was moved to a location on the lower level and involved the (standing) audience’s participation. Though unnecessary, this move and our surprise involvement had a congenial celebratory effect – surely the director’s intent. Thus, mirth ended this joyous performance, for the young lovers, the king and queen of the fairies, for the rustic actors and, most of all, for the appreciative public.
Ossama el Naggar
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