Whether arriving via a luxurious water taxi or taking a leisurely stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens, the journey to Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour is as picturesque as the setting itself. Each year, a vibrant theatrical hub emerges, complete with a five-storey pop-up bar and dining venue with a variety of offerings, ranging from cheerful pizzas, hotdogs and pies to decadent three-course feasts. This annual event embodies the very essence of spectacle, and this year's performance of West Side Story (which makes an anticipated return to Mrs Macquries Chair after its 2019 debut) wows us while compelling us to wrestle with the stark relevance of its themes, both to Australia’s own history and the turf wars at play globally.
Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical masterpiece West Side Story debuted on Broadway in 1957 and most recently got the Hollywood treatment by Steven Speilberg, to seven Oscar nominations. It’s a modern take on Shakepeare’s well-known tale of star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, set in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, during the 1950s. The Jets, a gang of All-American boys, are in a turf war with the Sharks, the new Puerto Rican immigrants on the block. When Maria (Nina Korbe) – the sister of the Sharks’ leader, Bernardo (Manuel Stark Santos) – and Tony (Billy Bourchier), a former Jet, lock eyes at the local dance, the rivalries escalate.
You might assume that the open-air ambiance would diminish the impact of the overture, yet under the expert orchestration of Guy Simpson (and carried by more than 220 speakers), Bernstein’s expansive score flourishes with undiminished zeal. Simpson skilfully leads the live orchestra of more than 40 musicians to heighten the stakes of each scene and build our empathy for the characters. Led by Korbe’s faultless soprano, the talented ensemble seamlessly navigates a fusion of classic opera with festive flashes of contemporary jazz and latin rumba. Brian Thomson’s graffiti-covered, industrial, trailer style set (complete with a balcony that rotates to reveal Maria’s bedroom) exists in an indistinct era that draws from the vibrancy of 1950s New York.
The choreography displays stunning synchronicity, harnessing an athletic grace to fill the audience with energy and fuelling the tension between rivals.
Where the score sets the foundations for the spectacle, it's John Rayment’s lighting design and Brendan Yeates’ adaptation of Kiira Schmidt Carper’s energetic choreography that take us there. The wide stage, which is more than double the size of any indoor stage in Australia, slopes upwards, affording the audience a clear view of the ballet-style dance formations. This requires the incredibly accomplished ensemble of 39 performers to cover an expansive space while accounting for the nine-degree incline.
The choreography displays stunning synchronicity, harnessing an athletic grace to fill the audience with energy and fuelling the tension between rivals. While the male ensemble has multiple opportunities to showcase their athleticism, the choreography also builds on the strength of the show's commanding female ensemble where it can, displaying the sensual power in femininity.
However, it was the reinterpretation of songs like ‘Somewhere’ – where Maria and Tony's vision of a world without prejudice is vividly brought to life through intimate partner choreography – that surprised and captivated this musical enthusiast. This moment seamlessly merges the operatic and choreographic elements, which are otherwise mainly showcased separately in this classic show
Meanwhile, the lighting design skillfully reveals shadows, secrets, and almost-missed gazes – bathing the downstage area in coloured light or casting reflections off a gigantic disco ball – using the extravaganza of the visual cues to foster an emotional connection with the audience. The costumes by Jennifer Irwin are intentionally simplistic, focusing on signalling the gang tensions, with the Jets dressed in blue and green, and the Sharks in vibrant reds and oranges.
There are moments, however, where the spectacle doesn’t quite land. The decadence of Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour always comes with a fireworks display, but what does its placement at the end of Anita’s (Kimberley Hodgson) big number, ‘America’, intend to celebrate? The popular song – which earned Oscars for both actresses in the film adaptations (Rita Morena in 1961 and Ariana Debose in 2021) – and performed with gusto here by Hodgson, carries a poignant undertone. It articulates an American Dream promised to and believed in by many migrants, yet ultimately proven unattainable due to pervasive prejudice, racism, and class discrimination. While it has become an anthem for West Side Story in many ways, it's essential to recognise that ‘America’ is not an anthem for the Puerto Rican people – rather, it's an anthem for assimilation and the American dream.
While Bernstein's original book presents limitations which are hard to overcome – namely that the characters fall too quickly, forgive too easily, and react too impulsively – this production doesn’t shy away from exploring the show’s darker themes. It allows more space for the horror of Anita's assault at the hands of the Jets, and the tragedies that befall both sides, with room for solemn silence notably held both at the intermission and in the final scenes.
In the closing moments, the relevance of the production to today’s world becomes strikingly apparent. There is a complex irony to witnessing this production at Yurong Point, now known as Mrs Maquarie’s Chair, which serves as a symbol of colonialism and has a history as a place of protest for First Nations people. When Nina Korbe (a proud Koa, Kuku Yalanji, Wakka Wakka woman) utters Maria’s most chilling line – “Well I can kill now too, because now I have hate!” – the echoes of global conflict in Ukraine, Gaza, and on our own shores, where the battle for sovereignty persists, resonate deeply. Perhaps West Side Story still holds valuable lessons for us, ones we must heed before it's too late.
West Side Story on Sydney Harbour is playing until April 21, 2024. Tickets are on sale now starting at $79. Find out more and snap up your tix at opera.org.au/harbour.
