OPERA REVIEW – Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten at Princeton Festival
To one used to the majesty of 18th and 19th Century opera, Britten’s light, delicate score, flowing as it does like a brook through an enchanted forest, comes as a surprise. Very soon however, the listener realizes the music is perfect for this tale of fairy magic, for an enchanted forest is precisely what the genius of festival artistic director Richard Tang-Yuk and director Steven LaCosse have brought to life. In this they have been immeasurably aided by two real stars of this production who do not appear on stage – lighting designer Norman Coates and set designer Jayme Mellema.
