Hamlet - Metropolitan Opera
With a reverent but mischievous take on the text and a superb cast led by tenor Allan Clayton, Australian Brett Dean’s contemporary masterpiece rises to the challenge set by Shakespeare’s great play.
With a reverent but mischievous take on the text and a superb cast led by tenor Allan Clayton, Australian Brett Dean’s contemporary masterpiece rises to the challenge set by Shakespeare’s great play.
When Brisbanite and Queensland Conservatorium graduate Brett Dean’s Hamlet had its world premiere at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival in 2017, The Guardian declared, “New opera doesn’t often get to sound this good … Shakespeare offers a gauntlet to composers that shouldn’t always be picked up, but Dean’s Hamlet rises to the challenge.”
Now, this riveting contemporary masterpiece arrives at the Met, with Australian Neil Armfield, who directed the work’s premiere, bringing his acclaimed staging to New York. Many of the original cast members have followed, including tenor Allan Clayton in the title role.
The words are all Shakespeare’s own, just in a different order. Librettist Matthew Jocelyn has created the libretto by filleting out four-fifths of the play, and sometimes reassigning what’s left – it’s “reverent but mischievous”.
Australian Nicholas Carter makes his Met debut conducting a remarkable ensemble, which also features soprano Brenda Rae as Ophelia, mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly as Gertrude, baritone Rod Gilfry as Claudius, and legendary bass Sir John Tomlinson as the ghost of Hamlet’s father.
"Forget Cumberbatch. Forget even Gielgud. I haven't seen a more physically vivid, emotionally affecting or psychologically astute portrayal of the Prince of Denmark than Allan Clayton gives in this sensational production. From his show of infantile madness in the early scenes, through his heart-rending rejection of Ophelia, to his final unleashing of pent-up psychotic rage, you can’t take your eyes off this deceptively dishevelled, shambling figure." The Times
Hamlet is sung in English with English subtitles.
A screening of the broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera 2021-22 Season in New York.
Please Note: the dates of Metropolitan Opera productions may be subject to change.
Duration 3 hours 35 minutes including 1 interval.
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