Opera Naked review, St James Theatre Studio

Opera should sit uncomfortably in the dark cabaret bar at the St James Theatre, but laid bare with an X Factor type make-over, Opera Naked strips away the high art shroud to expose the beating heart beneath. The format is four singers, a pianist, a comedian, and a series of confessional cameos: I was a bank manager until I found my voice; my reggae singer mum discouraged my music; I'm a pilot who took the plunge; Six years into soprano training, they said I was a mezzo and I had to start again. It's standard reality TV fare: the constant surprise that life isn't a series of neat stitches.

The show's stitching is provided by the MC, Tony Harris, who tantalises with deadpan expressions and lewd turns of phrase. And then of course, there's the music. Being at an age where Sam Bailey makes me teary, I don't stand a chance when a professional is singing Puccini, and there are arias here from both Madam Butterfly and Tosca. The choice of music and, in the second half, scenes, is terrific - a blend of wonderfully tuneful and the right side of challenging.

Opera Naked aims to draw in new fans as well as entertain aficionados and its humorous, gently instructive, approach works well. The vocabulary of the voice, and examples of the process, are shared to create a complicity between performers and audience.  There is jolly behind the scenes romping with the singers giving acting their best shot. They sing better. Credits are: mezzo, Clara Hendrick, who performs Handel while jumping up and down; soprano, Nadine Mortimer-Smith who sends shivers down the spine; Alex Tsiloglannis, a  text book stubble-and-tan tenor; and bass-baritone, Philip Spendley who was a very creepy Scarpia in Tosca. All are terrific.


In conclusion: Opera Naked is written by the director, Lynn Binstock, with material from Harris. His joke about Eugene Onegin is a cracker... Binstock provides excellent translations for some of the pieces, helping create an easy introduction to, and reminder of, how opera works. With a reasonably priced bar in the room, it's well worth a look.

References
St James Studio, Tickets

St James Theatre, Palace Street, London SW1   Run ends 20 October