The performers on stage and in the orchestra-pit are focused on getting everything right and ironing out any hiccups before the paying audience get a look. It’s nerve-wracking, exciting and a little terrifying for all. I can report back that this production is on course for a spectacular opening night for plenty of reasons.
The words are in English which makes it immediately accessible; all the jokes (there are quite a few) land on beat, I found myself laughing a lot. The music is soaring, intimate and eclectic with shades of Igor Stravinsky mashed up with James Horner and more. The set is functional, relatable and a touch nostalgic. Everything happens in an airport terminal. The themes are universal and, even though it does feel like a moment in time circa 1999, they pack an unexpected punch in 2025.
State Opera South Australia has assembled a terrific cast to play the characters we find waiting in this airport lounge. The timeless situation of waiting, for a birth, a rekindling of love, a meeting with a fantasy lover, for someone to depart, or arrive all get an airing and expose elements of human nature beautifully. Perhaps most exciting for the cast and crew was the reaction of this first ever audience; I was not alone watching from the auditorium, and I certainly wasn’t the only one laughing.
There were a few dozen people sitting-in to watch, they were greeted by State Opera South Australia Executive Director Mark Taylor who gave them a little history about the work and explained they were allowed to respond as they wished, it wasn’t a situation where we all had to sit quietly and observe. These were not your usual suspects either, they consisted of many young twenty-to-thirty-somethings. When the ED asked for a show of hands about who had seen a modern opera before, only a smattering of hands went up, likewise when he asked who had seen a traditional opera.
So it was a special kind of theatre magic when these youngsters started guffawing at the funny business; when they recognised the assembly of characters for who they were, people we know. It must have been a very special moment for the cast and crew as well, to hear the honest reaction of a very small crowd fill Her Majesty’s Theatre and peel through the vast space. I can only imagine how raucous opening night will get.
Of course it’s not all laughs, there are tender and poignant moments too. Historically opera as an art form tends to get a bad rap for being old fashioned or too expensive, but naysayers and hecklers are likely to be surprised at this splendid first cousin to a Wicked, Rent or Hairspray. Finally, all the singing and the music were totally lit.
Don’t miss this flight!
Flight takes off at Her Majesty’s Theatre from 8 to 19 May 2025. Get tickets here.
