Ferenc László : You are a puppet
That group starts with a double handicap, which wants to perform an operetta performance with puppets. A lucky constellation and lot of talents are needed for that kind of production to gain the interest of the theatre world. Zoltán Balázs could do it all.
The English operetta (light opera) which is similar to the comic opera is not treated with so long lasting, hardly dwindling but important popularity than the other important regional style of the genres are, the Austrian-Hungarian and the French operettas. That way even the twin stars of the English, Arthur Sullivan and his congenial librettist, William Schwenck Gilbert have not become our well-known acquaintances, the most successful play of the two masters’ cooperation is The Mikado, which became the object of adoration for a short time in Hungary only at the end of the 1880s. Mostly the numerous references to the Anglo-Saxon comedies make us remember the brilliant play, and the Europa of course. On the European Chanel they broadcasted many times Mike Leigh’s film, the fantastic Topsy-Turvy (Tinglitangli, 1999), which tells the whole story of the formation history of The Mikado.
János Meczner’ class of puppet artists with Zoltán Balázs, the director, performed a complicated play, which was made in Japanese style as their exam performance last year. The performance had a roaring success, and by up until now it has become a repertoire performance on the University of Theatre and Film Art from a successfully fulfilled exam exercise. The performance deserves the success by reason and law, as a dozen and half talented young artists serve with humour, singing voice and dexterity the director’s conception which is rich in ideas, and well thought over.
In the Sándor Hevesi Hall, which can be called puritan with courteous euphemism, the history of the town of Titipu is put on stage in front of us followed by the melodies played by a single piano. The stunning luxury, which is essential for an operetta, here is represented just by the puppets: the marionette figures, which were designed by Judit Gombár and made by Pál Lellei, are wonderful. These real masterpieces of handicraft do not show us only the fairy tale-like Japan but even the school-forming career of the great puppet designers of the memorable National Puppet Theatre too (Lili Országh, Iván Koós and Vera Bródy). These puppets are vivid, they are the active extensions of the youngsters, who move them to life, and the cooperation of people and the puppets are in cheerful and disturbing rhythm with the plot, which is moved on wires.
Gilbert’s libretto can caricature the changing of situations and titles, and the forcing power of the social rules – which are bloody serious in their accidentalness too. However, this Victorian satire is an action-packed comedy of love too (as it uses the popular basic formula of the opera buffa), and Zoltán Balázs’ performance can give the adequate stage presence of this thought-provoking, lyric and flirty play. Behind each puppet, there is a young mover, who performs in prose, and another who fulfil the melodic and lyric sounds. The characters are reorganised sometimes, that way Yum-Yum and Nanki-Poo’s kiss is shown unexpectedly by the puppet artists, and these kind of nice and charming ideas deserve likeability and appreciation too. The doubling of the roles, or more punctually their trial showing turns out to be a very productive solution. Not simply because the singers – in spite of their occasional indisposition – can fulfil brilliantly the voices, which would be too demanding to the puppet artists, but because this triad situation can be beneficial as a source of joke, as a special treatment that makes us forget about the lack of sets. The layers reach each other from time to time: with a gesture and puppet and a person can be connected, than a new idea mockingly counteracts the lyric weakening. Ko-Ko, the accidental but more corrupted executioner, the moralist Mikado, who becomes angry because of the cancellation of executions, and the other frivolous witty characters, can climb up on head and palms can hide in laps and bottoms.
Where is the immaculate boredom of the matinees by puppets on Sunday? Who said that the operetta could not talk about humans?
Ferenc László, Revizoronline, 2008
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)
The English operetta (light opera) which is similar to the comic opera is not treated with so long lasting, hardly dwindling but important popularity than the other important regional style of the genres are, the Austrian-Hungarian and the French operettas. That way even the twin stars of the English, Arthur Sullivan and his congenial librettist, William Schwenck Gilbert have not become our well-known acquaintances, the most successful play of the two masters’ cooperation is The Mikado, which became the object of adoration for a short time in Hungary only at the end of the 1880s. Mostly the numerous references to the Anglo-Saxon comedies make us remember the brilliant play, and the Europa of course. On the European Chanel they broadcasted many times Mike Leigh’s film, the fantastic Topsy-Turvy (Tinglitangli, 1999), which tells the whole story of the formation history of The Mikado.
János Meczner’ class of puppet artists with Zoltán Balázs, the director, performed a complicated play, which was made in Japanese style as their exam performance last year. The performance had a roaring success, and by up until now it has become a repertoire performance on the University of Theatre and Film Art from a successfully fulfilled exam exercise. The performance deserves the success by reason and law, as a dozen and half talented young artists serve with humour, singing voice and dexterity the director’s conception which is rich in ideas, and well thought over.
In the Sándor Hevesi Hall, which can be called puritan with courteous euphemism, the history of the town of Titipu is put on stage in front of us followed by the melodies played by a single piano. The stunning luxury, which is essential for an operetta, here is represented just by the puppets: the marionette figures, which were designed by Judit Gombár and made by Pál Lellei, are wonderful. These real masterpieces of handicraft do not show us only the fairy tale-like Japan but even the school-forming career of the great puppet designers of the memorable National Puppet Theatre too (Lili Országh, Iván Koós and Vera Bródy). These puppets are vivid, they are the active extensions of the youngsters, who move them to life, and the cooperation of people and the puppets are in cheerful and disturbing rhythm with the plot, which is moved on wires.
Gilbert’s libretto can caricature the changing of situations and titles, and the forcing power of the social rules – which are bloody serious in their accidentalness too. However, this Victorian satire is an action-packed comedy of love too (as it uses the popular basic formula of the opera buffa), and Zoltán Balázs’ performance can give the adequate stage presence of this thought-provoking, lyric and flirty play. Behind each puppet, there is a young mover, who performs in prose, and another who fulfil the melodic and lyric sounds. The characters are reorganised sometimes, that way Yum-Yum and Nanki-Poo’s kiss is shown unexpectedly by the puppet artists, and these kind of nice and charming ideas deserve likeability and appreciation too. The doubling of the roles, or more punctually their trial showing turns out to be a very productive solution. Not simply because the singers – in spite of their occasional indisposition – can fulfil brilliantly the voices, which would be too demanding to the puppet artists, but because this triad situation can be beneficial as a source of joke, as a special treatment that makes us forget about the lack of sets. The layers reach each other from time to time: with a gesture and puppet and a person can be connected, than a new idea mockingly counteracts the lyric weakening. Ko-Ko, the accidental but more corrupted executioner, the moralist Mikado, who becomes angry because of the cancellation of executions, and the other frivolous witty characters, can climb up on head and palms can hide in laps and bottoms.
Where is the immaculate boredom of the matinees by puppets on Sunday? Who said that the operetta could not talk about humans?
Ferenc László, Revizoronline, 2008
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)