Jane Austen Photo: public domain
Few writers had as sharp an eye for the detail of domestic life as Jane Austen.
This month, NZ Opera is taking Jonathan Dove's adaptation of Austen's masterpiece, Mansfield Park, to the South Island.
It follows a sell-out tour of the North Island last year.
Once again, English director Rebecca Meltzer is overseeing the stage action, and she spoke with RNZ Concert during a break in rehearsals.
Director Rebecca Meltzer and Assistant Director Andrew Gordon [Photo: Matthew McAuley]
Some of the key moments in Dove's opera are the dance scenes. In Austen's time, dancing was one of the few things men and women could do together - one of the few times when the opposite sexes could actually talk to each other.
So the sung dialogue during those dances is pretty key.
Almost as much singing and dancing as kapa haka. Photo: Robert Workman
Once again, seats are at a premium for Mansfield Park with the three Christchurch shows at the city's Arts Centre all sold out.
That's partly because word's got out about how good the opera is, but it's also because NZ Opera has opted to stage it in small intimate venues, something Meltzer thoroughly approves of.
Unlike your typical opera house, the audience is able to get right up close to the action, she says.
That enables Austen's astute observations of late 18th and early 19th century domestic life to really hit home.
And the good news is, there are still seats available for the two shows in Dunedin's Hanover Hall.
