May 11, 2008
As an overture to the main piece, the programme for Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale started with arrangements of three of Scott Joplin’s piano rags, including the instantly recognisable ‘Maple Leaf Rag’, written 15-20 years before Soldier’s Tale, and then Stravinsky’s ‘Ragtime’, written in the year after it. It was a good piece of planning to go from Joplin’s cheerful and familiar ragtime style, more associated (for me, at least) with garden parties or a summer Sunday by the river, to a piece showcasing Stravinsky’s take on this jazz style: it not only gave some background to the ragtime thread running through the score of the Soldier’s Tale but also emphasised just how innovative Stravinsky was. It is fairly incongruous to play ragtime jazz in a formal concert setting, and it was from Stravinsky’s Ragtime onward that the Adderbury Ensemble seemed to relax and come into its own as the players relished the challenges of Stravinsky.
The story of the Soldier’s Tale is mysterious and deceptively simple: a weary soldier returning home encounters the devil and exchanges his battered old violin for promises of wealth. The consequences of this decision are far-reaching, and despite learning some lessons, the soldier fails to learn that he can’t have all that life has to offer but has to make choices. It’s a truth-laden tale, in some ways sad, and open to interpretation on many levels. With a sparse set and few characters, it is important that the story is told well. Luckily tonight we were treated to an authoritative and articulate narrator, and Tom Bateman as the soldier, who took possession of his lines and the stage space with a naturalness that kept the audience with him. The devil, played by Joseph Adams, was excellent: suitably menacing and charismatic, his relentless resolve to win over the soldier was a reminder of how temptation never goes away! At the end there was the dancing princess, who added a female frailty to the story which is perhaps harder for a modern-day audience to relate to, but gave the story its softer side.
This production is on for the rest of the weekend and I would definitely recommend the outing to go and see it.
The story of the Soldier’s Tale is mysterious and deceptively simple: a weary soldier returning home encounters the devil and exchanges his battered old violin for promises of wealth. The consequences of this decision are far-reaching, and despite learning some lessons, the soldier fails to learn that he can’t have all that life has to offer but has to make choices. It’s a truth-laden tale, in some ways sad, and open to interpretation on many levels. With a sparse set and few characters, it is important that the story is told well. Luckily tonight we were treated to an authoritative and articulate narrator, and Tom Bateman as the soldier, who took possession of his lines and the stage space with a naturalness that kept the audience with him. The devil, played by Joseph Adams, was excellent: suitably menacing and charismatic, his relentless resolve to win over the soldier was a reminder of how temptation never goes away! At the end there was the dancing princess, who added a female frailty to the story which is perhaps harder for a modern-day audience to relate to, but gave the story its softer side.
This production is on for the rest of the weekend and I would definitely recommend the outing to go and see it.