THE DEVIL INSIDE by Louise Welsh and Stuart MacRae (Scottish Opera/Music Theatre Wales/Tapestry). At Harbourfront Centre Theatre (235 Queens Quay West). Saturday (March 12) at 8 pm, Sunday (March 13) at 4 pm. $29-$105. 416-973-4000, tapestryopera.com. Rating: NNN
The Faust legend gets an operatic update in librettist Louise Welsh and composer Stuart MacRaes The Devil Inside, co-commissioned and produced by Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales.
This North American premiere hosted by Tapestry Opera offers an exciting opportunity to see a show premiered only a few months ago in Glasgow.
Based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, the new text moves the action into the present with talk of Dubai skyscrapers and California condominiums, but it maintains the key points of the original: a green bottle containing a wish-granting imp is initially the envy of everyone who hears about it, but being its owner eventually causes problems.
Trouble is, the bottle can only be gotten rid of by selling it to someone at a lower price than the owner paid, and if the owner dies possessing the bottle, his or her soul languishes eternally in hell.
In The Devil Inside, the two tempted humans are impoverished friends Richard (Nicholas Sharratt) and James (Ben McAteer), who in their mountain travels come upon the splendid house of an old man (the dramatically arresting Steven Page, who also appears as a vagrant). Ben buys the bottle from him despite couched warnings of its mixed blessings.
Ben becomes a corporate magnate and, wanting a family life as well as worldly success, sells the bottle to Richard. He finds a wife in Catherine (Rachel Kelly), but not all goes as planned.
Welshs libretto weaves together a variety of themes, including friendship, greed, sacrifice and addiction. The last is perhaps the most important, for even though the two men know the twisted results of owning the bottle, they have a problem letting go of the cursed object. Shes given the tale an ambiguous finale, too, which suggests that happiness might not be possible after the curtain falls.
The clever production, directed by Matthew Richardson, makes fine use of Samal Blaks simple design and Ace McCarrons suggestive lighting, which relies on shadow, silhouette and a largely black and white palette. Notice how a Rorschach illustration takes on the clutching quality of the unseen imp.
The committed actor/singers lay bare the tales troubled human souls, though occasionally their singing of the text isnt as clear as it should be. The married James and Catherine have more to work with dramatically in the second act than the first were not really involved with the characters until later in the evening. Its in the operas latter half, too, that Sharratts Richard reveals new emotional depths, mostly of a distressed nature.
Played by a chamber orchestra of 14 led by Anthony Moffat, the music has its own drama. Catherine sings a passionate aria when she realizes that her future isnt what she expected, and Richard has a rich moment when he develops a haunted awareness of the power that the bottle exercises over him.
Perhaps the best music of the opera conjures up the imp in its green bottle, which we see occasionally as a smoky light. MacRae assigns various instruments to represent the being, its music slithery and sometimes frenetic. The composers done a fine job capturing both the alluring and the off-putting nature of this seductive, malevolent being.
If you like new opera, theres an upcoming collaboration to anticipate. Next May, Tapestry and Scottish Opera present the world premiere of Rocking Horse Winner, with a libretto by Anna Chatterton and music by Gareth Williams.
