Reader Reviews
Jakob Lenz (Hampstead Theatre, Inner London)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Since many of the 'professional' critics who do their usual carping appear to think (wrongly) that both Büchner and J M R Lenz were Romantics, I do not give that much credence to most of their criticisms, though, to be fair, they also make some very good points and are not generally unkind. I did not know Rihm's music before, but I thought that it was an excellent evooation of an on-going descent into madness, superbly realised by both the director and the main actor/singer. It may have been an advantage to have been sitting stage-right, but I had no difficulty with the words snd saw every detail, much enjoying not only the powerful performance of the central figure, but also the nightmarish behaviour of the chorus and exaggerated portrayals of the two friends as seen from his subjective and deranged viewpoint. As last year at the Young Vic, this ENO-playing-away production was viscerally memorable. Thank you. - M Miles | 21 Apr 12 |
