The First Murder (1707) by Domenico Scarlatti
In May (that indicates what my backlog is like) we went to the Roslyn Packer Theatre for a performance by the Pinchgut Opera company of this baroque oratorio about the brothers Cain and Abel.
I had high hopes for Scarlatti’s music. Fratricide, murder, damnation, expulsion, guilt, punishment, and exile seemed dramatic and dynamic subjects for some stirring music. Instead I watched some depressed and morose people mill around a sandpit like it was an unwelcome day out with the in-laws in sunny Strineland.
The critics praised it, I read later after seeing for myself, but I fear I am not on that wavelength and found it barely held my attention. I noticed more than one other in our seating area nodding off (though no names will be mentioned) as the glum proceedings crept on, and in the second half there were many empty seats in front of us, as others had decided to cut their losses and leave long before the curtin. Do reviewers take note of the audience reaction?
N.B. for future visits to the Roslyn Packer Theatre, try for seats H 32 & 33, J 32 & 33, K 33 & 34m, and then enter via the wheelchair entrance to the left of the men’s toilet on the street level. Best for leg room for me and my inflexible knee.