Minnesota Opera brings audiences up close in its first big COVID comeback REVIEW: Clever camera work offers a rich way to experience Minnesota Opera s first full-scale staging in 15 months.
By Rob Hubbard, Special to the Star Tribune May 24, 2021 11:55am Text size Copy shortlink:
So far away and yet so close.
Audiences aren t allowed into Minnesota Opera s new production of Benjamin Britten s comic opera Albert Herring. And the social distancing goes beyond that: The performers didn t even get within 4 feet of each other, and couldn t sing directly at one another from any closer than 12 feet.
And yet this online-only production is quite a success, thanks in large part to creative camera work. If you ve ever experienced an opera from the top balcony, this is the opposite extreme the faces of performers filling your screen as they give voice to this satirical and somewhat silly tale of a naive innocent who bec