Composer/Librettist: Lliam Paterson.
This opera was commissioned by Northern Opera Group, following their Artistic
Director, David Ward, reading the entire Canon over Lockdown, and wondering
what a Sherlock Holmes opera would be like. Having attended the premiere of
Lliam Paterson’s, ‘The Angel Esmerelda’ (a new opera commissioned by Scottish Opera
adapted from Don DeLillo’s short story of the same name) just prior to
lockdown, Ward was struck by his musical and dramatic skill, and so was given
the task of bringing Holmes to the operatic stage. It was decided that they
wished to present a canonical story, and with the short stories lacking enough
narrative for a full evening’s entertainment, they looked at the four novels,
being briefly tempted by ‘The Hound of
the Baskervilles’, but realising that ‘The Sign of
Four’ (the second novel) presents a love story, lost treasure, and a
climactic chase along the Thames, they chose this one instead (my favourite of
the novels for these reasons). It took four years to bring the opera to
completion, and the world premiere was the centrepiece of 2024’s ‘Leeds Opera Festival’, with all other events themed around it under the banner ‘Murder
Mystery and Music’.
There were only four performances and I attended the second. I was the first to take my seat in Leeds School of Art’s basement theatre. The set was a London skyline, mirrored hanging down on the right-hand-side of the stage. As you would expect the 180 seat venue was entirely full.
The performance began with the scene from ‘A Study in Scarlet’ with Holmes and Watson meeting in St Bartholomew’s Hospital, then moved to Baker Street where they quickly moved into the plot of SIGN, with Watson scolding Holmes for using cocaine, then being upset by his less than diplomatic deductions about Watson’s late brother based on his old watch. Holmes was being played by Edward Hawkins (Bass) and Watson by David Horton (Tenor), and I initially found them singing everything (in the main canonical dialogue) distracting, as well as the constant surtitles on a screen at the right of the stage (despite it being sung in English). Their voices complimented each other, as did Hawkins’ height mean that he towered over all over characters. Soon, our heroine, Mary Morstan, played by Ellen Mawhinney (Soprano) was appearing at Baker Street, and outlining why she needed our heroes’ help, captivating Watson in the process. The plot moved at a good pace, and the introduction of Dominic Mattos (Countertenor) as the effete Thaddeus Sholto provided welcome comic relief, with him stealing every scene that he was in. Having discovered the dead body of Thaddeus’ brother, Holmes was able to demonstrate his deductive skills, leading to a trail through London with a wonderful puppet Toby the dog (who looked more like Sprocket from ‘Fraggle Rock’ than any previous Toby that I had seen), puppeteered by Assistant Director, Marie Riley.
The murderer’s current location being unknown and Holmes unsure what to do, it was time for the interval after a 75 minute first half. The second half then went on for 40 minutes with its boat chase being well realised with only limited props. However, I must admit to being a little disappointed that although Tonga, the Andaman Islands Pygmy was referred to repeatedly, he did not actually appear. This all led to a wonderful final scene in Baker Street where Watson is preparing to leave to get married, but a new arrival causes him to take his jacket off again and take a seat.
The ensemble were all excellent, comprising Trevor Eliot Bowes (Bass), Zahid Siddiqui (Tenor), and Katy Thomson (Soprano), whose main parts were Jonathan Small, (a non-Welsh) Inspector Athelney Jones, and Mrs Hudson respectively, but who also played a number of other parts. However, it was not as clear as it could have been when Thomson was playing Mrs Cecil Forrester, Mary’s employer and friend, rather than Mrs. Hudson. I could also have had more scenes with Mawhinney’s Morstan, even if this meant adding them to Conan Doyle’s original.
The music was excellent, and the adaptation was also good. In an ideal world, I think I would have preferred a play with music, ie. the music throughout with spoken dialogue, as at no point were they singing to the music. However, this was the first opera that I have attended, and further such experiences could lead me to love the art form as much as Holmes himself. The direction, from David Ward himself, was also excellent.
In summary, a good night out, and hopefully it endeared opera fans to Holmes, more than it endeared myself to opera.
Rating: 
(4½/5)
Links: Northern Opera Group - Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four
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