From the House of the Dead review at The Bristol Hippodrome

Posted on: 2017-11-17

Our rating:

Though difficult to connect to the characters, a harrowing but important vision is enlivened by a truly masterful score


Walking to work this morning in the crisp November weather, the sun is low and blinding and photons shine through my breath. It is perhaps the polar opposite environment to the horrific vision portrayed in the stage production I attended yesterday evening featuring Dostoyevsky’s House of the Dead at The Bristol Hippodrome.

 

It is probably fitting after Remembrance Sunday to imagine some of the innumerable stories of human hardship and degradation which came out of the 19th and 20th centuries. If ever you were to conjure up an ordeal which defined some of humanity’s darkest hours a Siberian prison camp in the 1850’s would surely be a strong candidate.

WNO From the House of The Dead

I know what some readers might be thinking, ‘why should I spend an evening depressing myself?’. The enjoyment of a score which could rival Star Wars, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, or the Godfather notwithstanding - so that you can walk to work in the morning as I did simply glad to be free. Dostoyevsky like Extentialists in general invites you to consider these things: how and what the human spirit can endure - and the elements of simple decency and co-operation which find expression in seemingly impossible or damn near incomprehensible situations, and also how those same situations can bring out the cruelest extents of our nature.

 

It can safely be said that this is not a feel good show; this is no Paddington sequel. But the counteracting features to the subject matter is first and foremost the technical prowess of the cast along with a world class orchestra and stage production which is exciting, foreboding and eerie.

 

Stepping into The Bristol Hippodrome the strings gently vibrated with a high pitch motif which felt ever so slightly off-beat, instilling a subtle feeling of unease as I settled into my seat. From the moment Tomáš Hanus entered to begin the overture the audience were treated to a truly masterful score expertly executed by the orchestra. The wealth of emotions the music evoked coupled with the tight synchronicity between the score and the action on stage for me was the crowning jewel on this work.

 

Against the smoking asphalt grey and decaying bunker the inmates are almost camouflaged in their rags. What ensues is certainly not typical - because this isn’t a grand narrative or a linear story. From The House of the Dead is a true account of life in Siberian prison.

WNO From the House of The Dead

For those who want to fall in love with a central character or be gripped by twists and turns within a plot this is not the opera for you. What left me wanting was the lack of story. Because the novel itself is an autobiographical account, the chronological series of events we are used to is not how this opera is arranged. There is no great triumph of good over evil, and this ultimately meant that I couldn’t connect emotionally to the characters as much as I wanted. Though this is really a feature of the literature rather than any particular fault with the show itself.

 

Instead the inmates recount their individual stories on how they ended up detained almost extemporaneously. Each has a backstory of crime and punishment (see what I did there): crimes of passion or theft in the wake of severe deprivation, the rough and vitriolic trials, and the routine beatings from soldiers; every story skillfully sung. No character expresses a significant degree of contrition, as though the extremity of circumstance required them to commit these acts. Their underlying plea asks the audience ‘what else could I have done!?’

 

In amongst the inmates reimaginings of their downfalls a concoction of madness, violence, acts of kindness, and even excitement are exhibited. Though the prospect of punishment is never removed from one’s mind scenes where the Orthodox Church feed the inmates dutifully, and a pantomime show is put on in the camp adds a little lighthearted respite for the audience. The better days in Tsarist detention are described by Dostoyevsky thus:

 

‘The Commandant was liked, and even respected. He made the tour of the barracks in company with the Major, wished the convicts a Happy Christmas, went into the kitchen, and tasted the cabbage soup. It was excellent that day. Each convict was entitled to nearly a pound of meat, besides which there was millet-seed in it, and certainly the butter had not been spared. The Major saw the Commandant to the door, and then ordered the convicts to begin dinner. Each endeavoured not to be under the Major’s eyes. They did not like his spiteful, inquisitorial look from behind his spectacles as he wandered from right to left, seeking apparently some disorder to repress, some crime to punish.’

 

There are some truths to take away from this experience. One is that in such a situation your identity matters not, your essence as a person is all but evacuated to be replaced by that of a nameless prisoner. The severity of your crime, or your social standing, has little bearing on the abuse, torture and torment you are likely to be subjected to. And in such an era where crime is punished in this way, as a measure of loyalty to the regime, officials are compelled to exercise brutality as a means of showing their allegiance.

 

This brutality comes from a time we would love to believe is consigned to the history books - yet its spectre still looms. This is why works such as Dostoyevsky’s are so important and the WNO have done an excellent job of bringing From the House of The Dead to life.

WNO From the House of The Dead

Welsh National Opera in Bristol, WNO Bristol, Opera in Bristol



Article by:

Austin Shore

So currently juggling 2 children (with another on the way which most people don't know about!), working in logistics in Bath and studying a PPE degree (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) part time. Lived in Bristol for the past year but have worked in the city previously for around 5 years so know it well. Avid reader for as long as I can remember, very much inspired by the Beat movement, existentialism, and some dystopian stuff (Huxley, Orwell obvs!). Played in bands as a lyricist/front man for over 5 years and currently working on an interesting new project with N.F.A Audio who play quite a Bristolian type of Triphop.