By Cameron Woodhead
MUSICAL
SWEENEY TODD ★★★★
Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler
Victorian Opera, Arts Centre Melbourne
Until July 25
Behind Stephen Sondheim's most ghoulish and operatic work, Sweeney Todd, lies a Victorian-era penny dreadful: the tale of a deranged barber who slashes the throats of unwitting customers, and his partner in crime Mrs Lovett, who bakes their flesh into pies.
Antoinette Halloran and Kanen Breen in Victorian Opera's Sweeney Todd.Credit: Jeff Busby
Sondheim's genius was to transform a lurid spine-tingler into a moody and dramatic and pitch-black parable. Sweeney Todd's sharply literal take on "man devouring man" – and its gruesome, self-destructive revenge of the have-nots on the haves – seems more relevant to our own time than ever.
This Victorian Opera production is the third in a Sondheim trilogy that began with Sunday in the Park with George in 2013, and Stuart Maunder's bustling, atmospheric direction revels in grime and grand guignol.
Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Antoinette Halloran in Victorian Opera's Sweeney Todd.Credit: Jeff Busby
It's a smartly paced, slightly pared-back version that effortlessly distracts the eye and barely pauses for breath. The singing is, as you'd expect, magnificent; the orchestra too.
Perhaps the one caveat is Teddy Tahu Rhodes' performance as the demon barber. Rhodes is monstrously made up with a grisly scar splitting his skull. His acting is so flat and robotic you half-expect him to come out with "Hasta la vista, baby" after dispatching each victim.
Still, if that dampens the tragic ambit, the thrill of Rhodes' gravelly, sepulchral bass-baritone breaks new ground in the role. He sings as if his lungs were a haunted cave.
Opposite him, Antoinette Halloran as Mrs Lovett cooks up a brilliant incarnation of the villainess of the piece, more potent for remaining human at every point. She nails everything: the droll comedy of The Worst Pies In London, the macabre wit of A Little Priest, even the monstrous irony in Not While I'm Around.
There are some terrific supporting performances: Blake Bowden and Amelia Berry are ideally cast as the innocent lovers, Ross Hannaford sings the orphan boy with dexterity, restraint and purity of tone, Dimity Shepherd delves into gutter-opera as the beggar woman, and Kanen Breen pulls off a scene-stealing act as the Beadle.
The production is augmented by the impeccable timing and slick choreographic use of the chorus. It's a Sweeney Todd that brims with dark delights.