Punch and Judy

Published Tuesday 18 March 2008 at 09:50 by George Hall

When Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s first opera was premiered at Aldeburgh in 1968, Benjamin Britten is said to have walked out. Even now, this characteristic Birtwistle amalgam of ritual, folk tale, straight down the line modernism and violence seems uncompromising, but therein lies its strength. With a score influenced by Stravinsky but already sounding, in its gritty directness and tormented lyricism, very much like the Birtwistle of later years, and a brilliant libretto by Stephen Pruslin that moves elements of the familiar Punch and Judy show around within a text that makes reference to dozens of other operas, we surely have one of the classics of its period.

It certainly registers as such in this crisp and articulate staging by Michael McCarthy, which balances the grotesque comedy, intermittent pathos and sheer energy of this roller-coaster of a piece. Simon Banham’s designs are as colourful and immediate as a pantomime, while Michael Rafferty conducts a pin-point accurate reading of the score.

Gwion Thomas digs deep into the semi-psychotic, semi-pathetic Punch, a symbolic figure caught up in a cycle of casual violence and frustrated love he can never comprehend. Carol Rowlands’ performances as Judy and the Fortune Teller are masterly. Allison Bell hits the high notes as Pretty Polly, while Jeremy Huw Williams leers menacingly as Choregos and Jack Ketch. Indeed, this production of one of the great British operas of our time is a triumph for all concerned.