The plot of
A Warsaw Melody is fairly standard. Boy and girl fall in love but are torn apart by unforeseen circumstances. Down the years they meet again. Will the gifts of hindsight and opportunity provide sufficient and necessary circumstances for rekindling the spark, or will they finally get closure?
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| No rom commie |
Leonid Zorin's play, translated here by Franklin D Reeve, provides no easy answer as we watch the young, innocent, Soviet wine grower, Victor, meeting and falling in love with the sophisticated, playful, Polish diva, Helya. She is a student at the conservatoire in Moscow; he is a man of science, a plodder instantly enraptured by her sparkling eyes, dramatic delivery and speed of thought. Their courtship is charming and convincing but tedious: is there anything more irritating than a young couple being coquettish? When Stalin forbids marriages between Soviets and foreigners, the relationship implodes. Victor and Helya go their separate ways but remain drawn to each other across time, borders and fortunes.
Emily Tucker is mesmerising as Helya and sings beautifully too, though Polish is not a natural language for opera; and Oliver King is excellent as a man whose life is blighted by his own fear of risk. It is the paradox of being in love: while we love with certainty, nothing about love is certain.
In conclusion, Oleg Mirochnikov's direction is heavily dramatic - even the scene changes are choreographed - but we
are dealing with East European sensibilities. If you weather the over-egged first half, the second provides reward.
References
Arcola Theatre
Michael Billington review in The Guardian
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