Sweeney Todd
English National Opera, in rep until 9 April
A wicked deception is sprung in the opening moments of this New York-originated concert staging of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd. The English National Opera orchestra, liberated from the pit, is duly assembled on stage at the London Coliseum; flower arrangements and a Steinway grand add to the formality, and right on cue the conductor and cast, suitably attired in evening wear and with scores in hand, take their places behind a line of music stands. The applause dies and Bryn Terfel turns to the conductor, clears his throat and nods. The whirring ostinato introducing ‘The Ballad of Sweeney Todd’ begins — furtively — and Sweeney, of course, has the first word.
It’s a little like flinging down the proverbial gauntlet, dramatically speaking, but what we’re not expecting (spoiler alert) is that he — the demon barber of Fleet Street — should fling down his score, too.
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