Driving over the hills into north Belfast, as fields give way to houses, the visitor is plunged into election fever. Images of Nigel Dodds, the Democratic Unionist party MP for this hotly contested ward, smile from lampposts like a human flag parade all the way into the city. A few hours later, this same face stares out again, projected on to a backstage screen in the beautiful Lyric theatre. Arlene Foster and other unionist MPs, pixelated, smudgy but unmistakable, are there too. The event is not a political rally, but the world premiere of Abomination: A DUP Opera, an outstanding new work by the Northern Irish composer Conor Mitchell, director of the Belfast Ensemble, who performed it.
With the forthcoming general election and the recent passing of same-sex marriage legislation in Northern Ireland, the opera’s timing proved even more pertinent than predicted, no longer merely edgy but, as many heralded it, “incendiary”. The arts may often have been a source of hope across the province’s divided communities, but rarely in so overtly political a manner. This marks a new chapter. The subject matter is homophobia, but specifically the way language is used as a form of abuse. Commissioned with funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the British Council and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and seen in a short, taster version last year, it launched the 13th annual Outburst Queer Arts festival.
The opera’s framework is a BBC Radio Ulster programme from June 2008 fronted by Stephen Nolan (a speaking role, probingly delivered by Tony Flynn), with Iris Robinson, a DUP MP and wife of the first minister of Northern Ireland, as his guest. Every word of the libretto, which Mitchell has skilfully stitched together, is verbatim, from anti-gay comments made by Iris Robinson and others. A born-again Christian who had declared homosexuality “an abomination”, she was invited to reflect on her comments following an attack on a gay man in north Belfast. We see her defending her viewpoint and recommending the services – in a gorgeously melodic aria – of “a very lovely psychiatrist” who tries to help homosexuals become heterosexual.
The radio programme caused a scandal at the time, particularly because the mentally fragile Mrs Robinson was having an affair with a 19-year old-man. It’s now part of Belfast folklore. Even if prejudice remains, political language towards the gay community has become more circumspect since. Only an outsider – like myself – would need the level of context given here. Expertly and simply staged (the entire budget was a mere £60,000), the opera’s small cast was led by the Canadian-born, London-based soprano Rebecca Caine, brilliant in the role of Iris Robinson. The action features a drag act (Matthew Cavan, adorned in huge orange wig and orange platform heels), a chorus of supposed DUP members singing “Peter will not marry Paul in Northern Ireland”, rainbow balloons and cake, and a splash of scurrilous cabaret. The description may make it sound no more than agitprop. On the contrary, this is a fully fledged work of art, clear-eyed in its purpose, redemptive and sober rather than aggressive or hysterical, all woven into a score of musical dexterity and warmth. There are plenty of jokes too.
Mitchell, who designed and directed the show (with a team of lighting, video, sound designers), has written theatre music in the past: he understands pace and contrast. He’s at ease with a range of styles: a mini fugue hammers out the words “a harmful deviance”; a rapid, Rossini-style ensemble makes shrill comedy of “They are poofs”; a “lacrimosa” aria sung by the troubled Iris (“I can’t honestly understand/ Why they go that way”) arouses sympathy. The 13-strong instrumental ensemble, dominated by a quartet of woodwind, was conducted by Tom Brady. The audience gave a standing ovation at each of the five sold-out performances. The emotional response was palpable. On the night I was there, many were in tears. The festival organisers have been inundated with messages of support, many from people who had never been to an opera before, from the LGBT community and beyond. Abomination: A DUP Opera is a richly entertaining and significant work. It now deserves a wider audience.
At the V&A, Alex Mills’s new opera, Leonardo, marked the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death via two younger men in his life, who may have been his lovers: his apprentices Salai and Melzi. The sounds are harmonious but unvarying, with much of the text lost in the V&A’s lecture-theatre acoustic. Leonardo was himself an admired musician, who played the lira da braccio, though this was not part of the opera’s story. The viol-consort Fretwork, and the trio of singers – Tom Randle, Feargal Mostyn-Williams and Richard Immerglück – did their utmost to bring this delicate, cantata-like work to dramatic life, but its message remained somewhat veiled.
Star ratings (out of five)
Abomination: A DUP Opera ★★★★★
Leonardo ★★★
