Would you rather watch the federal election or Australia’s greatest-living thespian performing lines from The Tempest, accompanied by Queensland Symphony Orchestra?
No, it’s not a trick question. The reason I’m asking is because QSO’s Shakespeare’s The Tempest concert happens to be on May 3.
Does that date sound familiar? You’re right, it’s election night, something the great John Bell only twigs to at the beginning of our chat about his forthcoming foray to Brisbane.
“Oh, I will have to vote,” he says, stating the obvious. “I hope people will still come. We could have a small house.”
Actually, it’s perfect timing because the concert starts at 7.30 (there is a talk with Bell and QSO’s Umberto Clerici beforehand) and it’s listed as one hour and 10 minutes long, which means that after the storm (well, it is evoking The Tempest) you can watch the election results unfold on the telly when you get home.
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it’s probably an appropriate concert for election night, being a play about ‘revenge, forgiveness and reconciliation’
Bell is a titan of Australian theatre and founder of Bell Shakespeare company. It’s no exaggeration to say that he is one of the world’s greatest Shakespeareans. He’s up there with Sir Laurence Oliver, Sir Ian McKellen and others famous for their interpretations of The Bard. Which of William Shakespeare’s plays is Bell’s favourite?
“I’ve got about 37 favourites,” he says. “That’s like being asked which of your children is your favourite.”
Shakespeare died at 52 but Bell is still going strong at 84. He admits he prefers an early night nowadays (he will get one on May 3, he hopes) and is on stage less but still enjoying it.
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The Tempest is a play Bell is only too familiar with. “I have played Prospero three times,” he says.
It’s also one of The Bard’s late plays (possibly his last, according to some experts) – a play about magic, betrayal, love and forgiveness. It is set on an island somewhere near Italy where Prospero, the one-time Duke of Milan, and his beautiful daughter, Miranda, live with a sprite called Ariel and a strange wild man called Caliban.
Shakespeare’s plays often used music but we don’t know as much about that music as we’d like to. For this concert, Clerici has chosen music that suits the play … music by Honegger, Sibelius, Purcell and Tchaikovsky. The concert is Clerici’s idea and he has worked with Bell on this project before when with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
It’s one thing to hear music inspired by Shakespeare. It’s another thing to hear it performed alongside narration from a living theatre legend. Bell has directed, acted and written about Shakespeare more times than you can count. In this concert, he’ll catapult us into The Tempest’s blustery tale.
This expertly curated program boasts some of the most exciting pieces of music from Sibelius’ suites of the same name. “We’ve also included Purcell’s Overture for good measure,” Clerici says.
Bell admits it’s probably an appropriate concert for election night, being a play about “revenge, forgiveness and reconciliation”. He’s looking forward to returning to Brisbane where he has strutted the stage before although not for some time.
“I’m thrilled to be coming back,” he says. “I have to come a day early to rehearse.”
Whether he votes before he gets here or on the day in Brisbane, he isn’t sure yet. He just hopes people turn up for his concert. They will.
Queensland Symphony Orchestra – Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Concert Hall, QPAC, 7.30pm, May 3.