Left: (l-r) Aleta Hayes, Leonard Wooldridge, Christalyn Wright, Kismet Lyles and Josette Newsam. Cover: Aleta Hayes and ensemble. Photos - Stephanie BergerRobert Wilson and Bernice Johnson Reagon's The Temptation of Saint Anthony is an aural and visual feast. This is not surprising given Wilson's reputation as a visually innovative and exciting theatre director and Reagon's equally impressive reputation as a performer, composer, producer and teacher. Together they bring decades of experience to their distinctive interpretation of Gustave Flaubert's The Temptation of Saint Anthony.
Texan, Robert Wilson arrived in New York in 1963 to attend Brooklyn's Pratt Institute and soon became known with works such as King of Spain (1969) and The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin 1973). In 1976 he worked with Philip Glass to create Einstein on the Beach (seen at the Melbourne Festival in 2005. He is not only a director of theatre and large-scale opera, noted for his distinctive use of light and simple movement, but has had his drawings, furniture designs and installations exhibited in museums and galleries across the world. His work I La Galigo was considered the highlight of the 2006 Melbourne Festival.
Born in South-west Georgia, Bernice Johnson Reagon has a distinguished career as a civil rights activist, singer and scholar. The support of community and the promotion of equity have always been central to her work. In 1973 she founded the internationally acclaimed a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock performing with them, as well as being their artistic director, songwriter and producer of many of their recordings, until she stepped down in early 2004. However her work as a scholar and producer continues.
I hear music all the time. I have always heard it: ... The music that has found release through me has always been related to Bernice Reagon, African in America. My songs usually have to do with struggling against oppression, with the feeling of keeping afloat in spite of it all...
Together Wilson (direction and design) and Reagon (music and libretto) have created a stunning work that combines Wilson's much lauded visual style and Reagon's deep love for, and knowledge of, African-American song and culture.
The set is there to welcome the audience. Clean, simple lines and beautiful colours – blues and whites, clear and bright. The sense is of northern Africa, perhaps a Moroccan palace. The stage is empty of all but a single white chair of distinctive design placed towards the rear and left of centre; a stylised palm tree behind it; long benches along the walls on either side of the stage. The cast enter in procession from the audience, singing. Some carry branches, others beautiful bamboo birds. Then comes the music and the dance.
The title signifies what is to follow, the central character struggles against temptations of the flesh and the mind, pulled this way and that. All is told through dance and song, sometimes up-tempo and exhilarating, sometimes deeply moving. The music styles cover the gamut of African American music, from blues and roots, through gospel to jazz, with hints of rap and hip hop. There are songs about the sun going down, about emptiness and loss, love and redemption. The energy never flags and the colours are constantly changing, brilliant, vibrant and evocative. And the voices! There are times when they hit you deep inside and others where you want to jump up and shout with joy.
The African American cast of singers and dancers, accompanied by a live band, are under the musical direction of Toshi Reagon (Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely). The central roles are played by Daniel Dodd Ellis (Saint Anthony) and Helga Davis (Hilarion). Davis' performance was powerful and her voice, deep and rich, thrilled. The cast works as a supportive ensemble, their presence (and sometimes absence) emphasising the mood, their voices, singly or in unison, touching the soul. The young and the not so young, all move with feeling and sing from the depths of their being, drawing the audience in to share their emotional experiences. Their costumes, designed by Geoffrey Holder, are flowing and colourful.
Where I La Galigo evoked Indonesian culture, based as it was on an epic poem from that country, The Temptation of Saint Anthony offers an emotional journey through African American culture and experience, through the heart of what it is to be human. It is an experience to be savoured.
Melbourne International Arts Festival presents AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
The Temptation of Saint Anthony
Robert Wilson/Bernice Johnson Reagon
Venue: the Arts Centre, State Theatre
When: Thu 11 – Sun 14 Oct at 7.30pm
Duration: 1hr 50min no interval
Prices: Premium $97.50 / A Reserve Full $75 / A Reserve Groups (8+) $67.50 / A Reserve Conc $56.25
B Reserve Full $60 / B Reserve Conc $45 / B Reserve Student $22
C Reserve Full $42 / C Reserve Conc $31.50 / C Reserve Student $22 / School Groups $12
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 136 166
www.melbournefestival.com.au