Review by Louisa Polson
While opera may not be for everyone, fear not—you don't need to know your Mozart from your Wagner with Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera. The world premiere production astounds audiences with a fast-paced, 90-minute show full of tricks, quips, and exquisite musicality.
The true story of Siegfried and Roy is quite the extraordinary tale, and what better way to tell this story than a rhinestone loaded opera composed by Luke Di Somma and directed by Constantine Costi. While most people know of the Las Vegas legacy act and the untimely tragedy where Mantacore the tiger lashed out on stage. Di Somma and Costi wanted to explore the journey of how magician Siegfried Fischbacher, played by Christopher Tonkin, and daring tiger trainer Roy Horn, played by Kanen Breen, found each other and went on to become Las Vegas’s highest earning attraction. This “unauthorised opera” traces the duo's extensive, decades-long journey, from their humble beginnings in war-torn Bavaria to life aboard a European cruise where they met, before joining forces and ultimately cementing their place in the Las Vegas Hall of Fame.
Breen and Tonkin put on a fantastic show as the two leads, doing what they do best, mesmerising audiences with their stunning vocals, with the addition of maintaining their characters' chirpy German accents, taming tigers on stage and shocking the crowd with a touch of magic.
Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf 1 Theatre has been turned into a Las Vegas showroom, with ornate cabaret seating surrounding the stage, a working bar off to the side and a plethora of hanging lights dazzling from above. From the moment you walk into the theatre, you know you’re in for a treat. The various production elements within this piece are designed to thrill, giving you a dopamine hit no matter what direction you look. To maximise this experience opt to sit down in the front in the cabaret section as opposed to the tiered seating at the back of the theatre, as it looked like audience members at the front were having so much fun being in the thick of it.
Dressed to the nines by Oscar-award winning designer, Tim Chappel, the entire cast were adorned in a stunning array of decade defining outfits that sat on a spectrum between glamourous and gaudy. Absolutely every element was meticulously detailed to create a glitter filled frenzy. As the opera progresses, the magic, the music, the costumes and the set continue to become more decorated, dramatic and glitzy, at which point, the audience remains in a heightened sense of joy as each new scene brings with it a new surprise to raise the bar.
If you’re still not familiar with the name Siegfried and Roy, you will no doubt be singing their name merrily once you leave the theatre, as this line is sung repeatedly during the show, albeit as a way to track the dynamic nature of the pairs relationship with one another. Despite comedy
being a large theme of the show, the story of the dynamic duo grows to tug at your heart strings, as the audience is able to see through the sass and glam of it all, and begin to hope for the couple to come out unscathed. This softness that peaks through the laughs as the show progresses is how Di Somma and Costi were able to create balance that allowed the audience to appreciate the duo’s magnificent journey, and root for their successes. Demonstrating that this “unauthorised opera” is in no way a mockery of this pair, but a celebration of the duo’s illustrious career.
This show goes wild (literally). If you have only got the time to see one show this Sydney Festival, I am certain that Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera will have you leaving the theatre absolutely buzzing.
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