Classical Preview: A dark, disturbing tale of opera on a small scale

Those who abuse human rights will be scarred just as much as the victims, and those of us who are bystanders cannot escape the moral responsibility of deeds carried out by governments in their name.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Oct 2010, 12:02 BST
Updated 22nd Oct 2010, 12:02 BST

It would be good if that message in Philip Glass's chamber opera, In the Penal Colony, were true, but it offers an uneasy requital for those of us who are a comfortable distance away from the reality of life in a totalitarian state.

The libretto for this short opera is based on Franz Kafka's powerful story of the man sentenced to death in a horrifically slow manner without his ever knowing what he was charged with, the innocent visitor being brought in to witness his execution.

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When challenged as to why he is carrying out this sentence, the Officer has no logical answer for his part and subsequently commits suicide.

Composed just over 10 years ago, Glass is held in high esteem as one of today's leading composers in the US, Einstein on the Beach and Akhnaten among the most frequently staged 20th-century American operas.

This production, which arrived in London last month and comes to Leeds next Thursday, is the work of joint artistic directors Michael McCarthy and Michael Rafferty for Music Theatre Wales.

It calls for just two singers, an actor who does not speak, a chamber orchestra of five instruments, and is here presented in a fully staged performance as part of Opera North's programme of small-scale operas in the ideal surroundings of the Howard Assembly Room.

In the Penal Colony, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Grand Theatre, October 28, 8pm. 0844 8482727.

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