After spending 107 years as a lightship, the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Carpentaria has had a late-life career change, being press ganged into service as the stage for Sydney Festival’s production of Puccini’s one-act opera, Il Tabarro. Director Constantine Costi updates the original Parisian setting to 1930s Sydney, with the harbour providing a perfect backdrop (and the local seagulls an atmospheric Greek chorus).
Puccini’s class consciousness remains intact as we follow the doomed love triangle between ship owner Michele (Simon Meadows), his wife Giorgetta (Olivia Cranwell), and wharfie Luigi (James Egglestone) – and even if you’re not familiar with the original, the fact that that this production is being billed as a “nautical noir” should indicate that things do not go smoothly.
This take on Il Tabarro shines not just because of the novel setting, but in the way Costi manages to retain the intimacy of the story, even with the bustling Sydney CBD serving as his backdrop. Meanwhile, conductor Simon Bruckard and the Victorian Opera Chamber Orchestra’s music reminds us that even if the lives of these characters are modest, the emotions in play are epic.
The only real caveat is an issue with the audience rather than the production – not a moment passed that wasn’t captured on several mobile phones. (Still, there is a large body of water close to hand, if that proves to be an unbearable imposition.)
Il Tabarro is playing on Sydney Harbour, outside the Australian National Maritime Museum, from Jan 9-13, 2024. Tickets are free, you can join the waitlist here. This event is also available to watch via livestream on Friday, Jan 12, as part of Sydney Festival's AT HOME digital program.
