Death In Venice

Leeds Grand Theatre

Thursday, October 17

Luchino Visconti's famous 1971 film starring Dirk Bogarde as the writer Gustav von Ashenbach who harbours a fatal desire for the youth Tadzio, whilst on holiday in Venice, predates Benjamin Britten's final opera of the same title by two years. The opera is being seen in Leeds for the very first time.

Opera North's elegantly costumed production suggests the mysterious and oppressive atmosphere of Venice at the end of the 19th Century.

Tom Schenk's set, moodily lit by Paule Constable, creates a landing stage at the edge of some real water. The only obvious visual reference to Venice is in the trio of gondoliers – harbingers of doom and all dressed in black. The simple and poignant placing of a wreath of flowers as Ashenbach surveys the grave of his dead wife at the beginning of the opera is all that is necessary to transport the audience to cemetery in Munich, and return there at the end; the grave has now become Ashenbach's own final resting place.

Alan Oke's beautifully crafted portrayal of Ashenbach does make us feel profoundly moved by the predicament of this vain, self-obsessed character. However, the bizarre decision to cast a not-so-young female dancer instead of a young male as Tadzio considerably alters the chemistry of the opera.

The orchestral textures, more astringent than in any of Britten's preceding operas, are enriched by sounds of the Balinese gamelan and the timbral effects of an extensive percussion department. Everything is balanced with consummate skill by conductor Richard Farnes who illuminates the score in crystalline detail.