Although the first piece (One Day This Will be Long Ago) was difficult and the second (China Doll) plain agony to sit through, the Tête-à-Tête Clubnight at Egg, London finished with two triumphantly strong and original visions of opera. Cavalier’s Rock Tosca is basically one of the best ideas anyone has ever had. Big, sweaty, loud and brilliant, rock’s ego-heavy aesthetic is ideal for Puccini’s personality-driven thriller. Meanwhile, unashamedly graphic in its libretto (we even have a coke-laden chorus, “Sniff! Snort! Sniff! Snort!”), Boys of Paradise tells the story of three friends who embark on the drug-fuelled gay sex scene, one of whom, the Icarus-like Twink (Adam O’Shea), pushes through the happy ecstasies into a darker world beyond.
Click here to read my full review on Bachtrack.
Cartoon attributed to George du Maurier, Punch, 1895
