State of Origin: Queensland rules at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour
Opera Australia’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – West Side Story – is worth a trip to the Emerald City and, as a bonus, its lead cast members are Queensland trained
Wow! That’s the reaction you want to have when you see a big show and that’s what Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour’s West Side Story delivers.
Of course, the setting alone has serious wow factor, with one of the world’s best views – Sydney’s Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the background.
Top that with a production that’s equally iconic and epic in scale and you have a next-level experience justifying an interstate journey, particularly when there’s plenty of Queensland star power in the cast.
This Opera Australia production provides further proof that the company has the once-in-a-lifetime experience market sewn-up following the world premiere of its transformative Ring Cycle in Brisbane last December.
It’s easy to exist in the bubble of Queensland’s vibrant arts scene, only registering broad brushstrokes of events elsewhere in the country. Even if you’re aware of the annual Handa Opera outdoor performance seasons that began in 2012 with La Traviata – and have also included Phantom of the Opera, Carmen, Madama Butterfly and Ring director Chen Shi-Zheng’s Turandot – you might not realise just how big they are, in multiple senses.
The stage is massive, the largest in the southern hemisphere, and the audience capacity of 3000 at Mrs Macquaries Point is more than any theatrical venue nationally.
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Of the eight works presented, this 2019 version of West Side Story holds the attendance record, proving it was the perfect choice as the Handa program’s first musical. Having made its mark in 1957 with a ground-breaking combination of classical and jazz music and dance propelling a contemporary American interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story achieved immortality through the Academy Award-winning 1961 film adaptation.
Direction was entrusted to La Traviata’s American director Francesca Zambello, and the resulting grand spectacle (for which she won a Helpmann Award) validated the masterpiece as standing the test of time.
The huge stage jutting over the water could be a breakaway chunk of Manhattan Island that washed up here. Brian Thomson’s set represents an asphalt expanse dominated by graffiti and a sense of transience. Being outdoors, it’s easy to feel as though you’re there on the ground half a block from the rival gangs’ mean New York streets – close enough to feel involved yet safe.
There are three reproduction subway cars, one of which rotates to become Doc’s Drug Store. Puerto Rican teen Maria’s home resembles a fortress and ladders symbolise hope – without soft landings. A 30m steelwork highway overpass frames this hard-edged world (with a nod to the Harbour Bridge).
For the most part the costumes (by Jennifer Irwin) and hair styling effectively honour the era, although some tweaks jar. John Rayment’s bold lighting optimally defines everything on stage, physically and dramatically.
But all of this would fall flat without dynamic, emotionally connected performances that extract the power and intensity of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s soundtrack in tandem with Jerome Robbins’ original choreography. The Jets and Sharks’ sharp and strong group unison sections remain exhilarating.
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In a cast this size – five leads, four supports and an ensemble of 31 – featuring a dozen debuts, it’s impressive that there isn’t a weak link.
The show’s one import, American Manuel Stark Santos, brings a seething intensity to Sharks’ leader Bernardo, the brother of Maria and boyfriend of Anita.
The artists playing those female roles, alongside Maria’s love Tony, provide a source of parochial pride. Nina Korbe, Kimberley Hodgson and Billy Bourchier are all Queensland-based graduates of Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and Korbe and Hodgson are Queenslanders.
Each is special. On top of stunning voices, they have good looks and star quality channelled through charisma, charm and conviction.
Bourchier has waited nearly a decade for this break as a leading man. He is more than ready. Delivering songs such as Something’s Coming and Maria, every word is crystal clear, every note pure and perfect and his emotion, believable. His Tony is the best I’ve seen – and there’ve been a few.
The classically trained Korbe teams her agile and warm operatic vocals with an engagingly nuanced interpretation of Maria. As the star-crossed couple she and Bourchier have great chemistry. Their connection feels natural and genuine and their voices blend beautifully in famous duets Tonight and Somewhere.
Hodgson, who was a year ahead of Bourchier in the inaugural musical theatre cohort, also gets to reveal moving emotional range and depth beyond Anita’s strong and sassy exterior. That was on full display, delivering one of the best-ever song and dance numbers, America.
While the theatrical staging involving just the Puerto Rican women doesn’t pack the same punch as the film’s version playing off their men, it remains a highlight – and a giant earworm that’s hard to shake.
Doing the score equal justice, unseen beneath the stage, is the 28-piece Opera Australia Orchestra under musical director Guy Simpson. The only flaw apparent in the sound design on opening night was the transmission of dancers’ panting after their strenuous routines.
The season continues until April 21, so Queenslanders have plenty of time to get a ticket and get down there. If you need any further convincing that this West Side Story is in a league of its own, there are fireworks offstage every night too.
opera.org.au