2nd October 202 at Wales Millenium Centre
IÔÇÖd had my eye on Migrations since its world premiere in June and so was excited to see it had been reprised for Welsh National OperaÔÇÖs autumn season. With a diverse cast and creative team, and powerful subject matter, it promised progression away from the stereotypical white stuffiness associated with the opera world.
Migrations dramatises six different stories related to the central theme of the movement of peoples from one place to another, what motivates them and what their reactions are. With the Twenty-First Century defined heavily by conflicting viewpoints on immigration, I was intrigued to see how Will Todd, who composed the Music and orchestrations, would explore this pressing topic through opera. I was, however, disappointed to see that ToddÔÇÖs handling of it at times lacked sensitivity and romanticised colonisation; something that distracted me from the quality of musical elements of the performance.
The concept of portraying six different narratives was clever, and had the potential to spotlight lesser-known experiences of immigrants. Separately, they might have made engaging operas if given enough time to cover the complexities of each storyline. However, by weaving them together, director Sarah Crisp skims through them and suggests that each narrative deserved the same sympathy from the audience. This felt problematic, considering narratives that concerned themselves with the devastating effects of colonialism and the mistreatment of indigenous people that spans centuries, were intertwined with that of the voyage of the Mayflower; the voyage that founded the United States of America and inspired the very same colonial violence and destruction of Indiginous land.
As I said earlier, redeeming factors of Migrations are its talented and diverse cast, and the light they cast on some of the lesser known narratives about migration. Treaty Six, the story of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation of Alberta, Canada and their fight against the construction of an oil pipeline across their Indigenous land, was a reminder of how the world is still very much feeling the impact of colonialism. Cree member Nadine, tenaciously portrayed by Isabelle Peters, inspired an angry empathy in me as her home is threatened by the commercial greed of the Canadian government. However, this emotional reaction was replaced by bewilderment in Act Two when the table of the First Thanksgiving turned into the pipeline being built in Beaver LakeÔÇÖs territory. This was clever staging, metaphoric for the control that colonialism has exercised over Indeginous countries, but I couldnÔÇÖt shake the feeling that the consequences of the Mayflower voyage were glossed over.
Other narratives did well to criticise the treatment of immigrants and minorities; such as Flight, Death or Fog – the story of Pero Jones, a slave to the wealthy Pinney family in the 18th Century – and The English Lesson, which uses the context of a refugee English lesson to humanise the experiences of refugees in England. I believe that the production may have been more enjoyable if Mayflower had been eradicated from the production completely, and more time spent exploring the worlds of Flight, Death or Fog and The English Lesson.
Flight, Death or Fog, perhaps the most engaging of the six narratives, not only investigates the intergenerational relationships between slaves – through heartbreaking performances from Kenneth Overton, Chanae Curtis, Micheal Anthiny McGee and Tom Randle, who respectively portray three generations of male slaves. It also touched upon the heirarchy of slaves within slavery, something that I have never seen portrayed on stage or sceen before. Pero, the narrativeÔÇÖs central figure, experiences a relatively high status working in the wealthy Pinney household, and despite still being John Pinney (David Shipley)ÔÇÖs property, PeroÔÇÖs living conditions are considerably better than his familyÔÇÖs who still work on PinneyÔÇÖs plantation in the Caribbean which causes Pero great emotional turmoil. PeroÔÇÖs story touched me deeply, and I left the opera yearning to learn more.
As IÔÇÖve already said, Migrations would have worked better if certain narratives were given┬áthe time and opportunity to delve deeper into their subject matter. Although the cast and musicians involved had immense talent, and I enjoyed the production values of the opera, the handling of certain topics left me feeling conflicted about my enjoyment of Migrations.┬á
Migrations is currently touring until 26th November. Venues include Theatre Royal Plymouth, Birmingham Hippodrome and Mayflower Theatre Southampton.
