Amongst the plethora of brilliant witticisms, maxims and reflections embedded in the works of the late 19th-century Irish writer Oscar Wilde, is the idea that there is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about at all.
Now, more than 120 years since his death, with the unforgettable world premiere of Oscar© – The Australian Ballet’s (AB) first full-length commission under the praiseworthy, inclusive leadership of Artistic Director David Hallberg – Wilde remains guaranteed to being talked about.
Based on an original concept by art director Alexander Wise and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon – whose captivating work is known to audiences through Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Oscar© is a trailblazing masterpiece plump with thought-provoking meaning, stirring emotion, unashamed hedonism and breathtaking wonderment.
Oscar© symbolises so much of what ballet ought to be in the 21st century. In addition, Friday evening’s opening night at Melbourne’s sumptuous Regent Theatre (AB’s temporary home for the next three years) cemented that often rare occasion when every artistic force combines with spellbinding equilibrium.
Built around a prologue, two acts and an epilogue written by Wheeldon and composer Joby Talbot, Oscar© essays the chiaroscuro of Wilde’s life and persona both sympathetically and bluntly with pulsating richness.
The result is an ingenious fusion of juxtaposed elements beginning with Wilde’s trial for sodomy and gross indecency in a whirlwind of legal proceedings at court. Wilde is convicted and imprisoned for two years during which time he faces his conscience in a psychological battle.
Woven through are references to two of Wilde’s notable works, The Nightingale and the Rose in Act 1, with its themes of love and sacrifice, and The Picture of Dorian Gray in Act 2, highlighting those of vanity, morality and the corrupting influence of beauty and pleasure.
With them, Wheeldon and Talbot seemingly confront the conflict between morality and aestheticism (the celebration of beauty as free of moral consideration) – without judgment despite the consequences borne.
From outwardly depicted loving family life with wife Constance and his two sons, to the serendipitous meeting with the flirtatious Robbie Ross and their ensuing lover’s relationship that introduces Wilde to London’s sexually charged underworld, the work is a skilfully structured affair that compellingly blends solo introspection, paired tenderness and tensions as well as thrumming ensemble reactions. Even in the setting of an orgy, far from shocking, Wheeldon imbues it with considered innateness.
Wheeldon’s choreography flexes and flows with unswerving beauty and vitality in tandem with Joby Talbot’s fabulously rich and painterly, cinematic-like score – each creative clearly in synch with the other’s artistic ideals.
A bursting and faultless Orchestra Victoria is on show in front of the temporarily raised stage led by conductor Jonathan Lo who fathoms and punctuates Talbot’s music with exemplary expertise. Brass and percussion play a particularly striking part.
On stage Jean-Marc Puissant’s scenic and costume designs are enormously impressive from the get-go. While an elegant and arched, three-sided, Italianate-inspired construct sets the boundaries in this late-Victorian-era world, all sorts of changes manifest the moment.
Timber-panelled walls slide into place, props move in and out briskly and Wilde’s cell is a little island in what becomes the gloom of a hard, metallic cage. Together with David Bergman’s delightful video designs that include a watchful and feeling moon, it is all captured extraordinarily, courtesy of Mark Henderson’s stratospherically sublime lighting design.
But, it is the interpretative virtuosity and commitment of the AB dancers that shapes the expressive agency of this work. Seizing the demanding titular role, Principal Artist Callum Linnane is a stunner in conjuring the soul with his affecting portrayal of Oscar Wilde.
On stage for the bulk of the almost 130-minute performance time, Linnane is a tireless, enigmatic and powerful centrepiece, whether revelling in the spotlight among admirers, absorbed in the heat of sexual pleasure or battered by the frigid hopelessness of life in prison. Linnane shares the role with fellow Principal Artist Joseph Caley and Senior Artist Jarryd Madden, giving at least a couple more reasons to see it again.
Linnane is supported by a lengthy cast list, including Caley, who gives shining athleticism and geniality to Robbie Ross. Benjamin Garret is superb in bringing distinguished flair to Wilde’s risky lover Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas) after dancing the rejected Student in The Nightingale and the Rose.
Ako Kondo delivers gorgeously channelled avian charm as the Nightingale, Sharni Spencer is perfectly ladylike as Oscar’s wife and Marcus Morelli and Cameron Holmes easily steel the moment with acrobatic pliancy as a duo of entertaining transvestites, Harri and Zella – many more glamorous sorts in the audience were just as eye-catching.
Added padding includes brief, informative narration by Seán O’Shea’s and Victoria Lambourn’s wordless and resonant singing from within the orchestra is a sensitive accomplishment as the Voice of the Nightingale.
When the Nightingale returns in the Epilogue to plant a red rose in the hands of Wilde’s lifeless body, thoughts that every aspect of Oscar© wants to speak to the audience are strong.
Oscar© is not about fairness or injustice, rather, the consequences of choices we make. And, while Wilde referred to himself as one who stood in symbolic relations to the art and culture of his age, it would seem that AB is courageously doing so, too, with Wheeldon and Talbot’s masterpiece.
OSCAR©
Regent Theatre, 191 Collins Street, Melbourne
Performance: Friday 13 September 2024
Season continues to 24 September 2024
Information and Bookings: www.australianballet.com.au
Joan Sutherland Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Season: 8 – 23 November 2024
Information and Bookings: www.australianballet.com.au
Images: Callum Linnane as Oscar Wilde and Ako Kondo as the Nightingale – photo by Christopher Rodgers-Wilson | Callum Linnane as Oscar Wilde – photo by Christopher Rodgers-Wilson | Artists of The Australian Ballet – photo by Christopher Rodgers-Wilson | Ako Kondo as the Nightingale – photo by Christopher Rodgers-Wilson
Review: Paul Selar