West Side Story’s hot start in the rain

The open air run of West Side Story got off to a cracking start with a tight, near-perfect performance as the heavens opened.

Jets all the way in Opera Australia's Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production of West Side Story. Picture: Prudence Upton

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The opening night of Handa Opera’s production of West Side Story could as easily have been billed Singing In The Rain as the heavens opened on cue to the distinctive riff of Leonard Bernstein’s celebrated score.

There was no ducking for cover for the Australian-American cast of singers and dancers as they burst on to the sloping spotlit stage of steaming manhole covers, graffitied subway cars, a giant Statue of Liberty and freeway overpass.

The audience of first nighters sheltered under umbrellas or covered their sequined frocks and tuxes or corporate suits under milky transparent ponchos. From the stage they must have looked like an army of seated ghosts.

This was a tight, near-perfect performance under director Francesca Zambello, a leading light on the American opera scene and currently artistic director of Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center.

PURE

The trying conditions of the first half failed to faze the superb ensemble of dancers, who didn’t put a foot wrong in this Romeo and Juliet story of racial tension and rival gangs — the Puerto Rican (PR) Sharks and “all-American” Jets — under the watchful eye of associate director and choreographer Julio Monge.

Julie Lea Goodwin as Maria and Alexander Lewis as Tony. Picture: Prudence Upton

The rain-drenched star-crossed lovers Maria and Tony, homegrown talents Julie Lea Goodwin and Alexander Lewis, gave their all despite occasional balance problems with voice microphones. Goodwin’s pure operatic soprano and strong acting talent soon won over a knowledgeable audience, though there was a little less enthusiasm for Lewis who acted convincingly and was strong in the forte passages but faltered sometimes in the soft high notes.

The gang leaders Bernardo and Riff — Puerto Rican-raised Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva and NIDA-trained Mark Hill respectively — were both standouts in the roles immortalised in the 1960 movie by George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn.

Melbourne-born singer-dancer Karli Dinardo, now based in New York, was a powerhouse in the key role of Maria’s friend Anita in her big numbers America and A Boy Like That. Her sister Luca also shone as the lone female Jet, Anybodys.

This is the hot ticket in town and definitely not one to miss, whether you’re an opera lover or not

It takes 330 people working on site to stage this eighth Handa Opera production, including a 30-piece orchestra under conductor Guy Simpson hidden beneath the cantilevered non-slip stage.

The large set pieces — the Rumble, Dance at the Gym and the Jet Song — were highlights with dancers and invisible musicians working together seamlessly.

Brian Thomson’s sets — a revolving house for the balcony and love scenes and a converted subway car for Doc’s diner — were striking, clever and effective.

The harbour setting makes for a magical backdrop and the obligatory fireworks completes the night, whatever the weather.

This is the hot ticket in town and definitely not one to miss, whether you’re an opera lover or just want to revel in the jazzy romantic music of Bernstein, the biting lyrics of Stephen Sondheim — still fresh and sadly relevant 60 years on — and the edgy groundbreaking dance routines of Jerome Robbins.

The show runs most nights until April 21.

DETAILS

● SHOW: Handa Opera West Side Story

● WHERE: Mrs Macquarie’s Stairs

● WHEN: Friday, March 22