Days away from being performed, The Black Spider was meant to be the next big show for Welsh National Youth Opera in March 2020. A sinking feeling must have come over these budding singers, some of which may not have sung on a professional basis before. Two years later we would finally see what was created.
Whilst this staging might not have the weight of Brundibar, their last endeavour, a feeling of pride flickered. The Black Spider’s composer Judith Weir described her opera as “somewhere between a video nasty and an Ealing comedy”, based loosely on the 19th-century novella of Jeremias Gotthelf. It is very much a piece written for children, with proud parents sat aside us in this apt tale of viruses and curses.
Director Rhian Hutchings has done what she can with the thing, the only spectacle being the hooded giant puppet of the Green Huntsman. Much work needs to be done to hone the talents of the leads, though some decent singing came from Tomos Jones as Count Heinrich. Folk charmer Casper, played here by Owen Parsons, gave northern appeal in the slight role, his guitar the cage to trap the literal disease spewing spider of the title.
Ffion Morgan Short and Euan McEvoy are stroppy lovers Christina and Carl, whose coupling set up the downfall of the village. The Green Huntsman, expecting her hand in marriage for helping in the heaving of a forest up a mountain, delivers the fateful blow. The spider burnt within Christina’s arm starts wrecking lives, leading to a pandemic with no exit.
There are few highlights, though the choral moments with the puppet give the kiddies some charming bursts of musicality. A small band led by Dan Parkin is played with folksy, ironic bite, though the piece never really felt like it took off anywhere special. The story, set in Poland, spans centuries and tries to grace themes of duty and honour, though the zombies which follow assure you this grounds itself in the realm of black comedy.
Video work and costumes allude to the gothic and German expressionism, remaining dank on stage throughout. Whilst the odd laugh might be found, it is the contemporary part of the story which remains underused, with little effect other than using the ‘cursed tomb’ trope we’ve seen many times before.
This is one of Weir’s early operas, and it shows: later work would affirm her talents. Britten and Maxwell Davies remain responsible for the gold standard of British operas for children; The Black Spider lacked any real form, even with brief, quirky moments for percussion and an exhausted moral conclusion.
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sat 28 May
words JAMES ELLIS
