The Intelligence Park review: An evening of confusion and misery

The Irish composer Gerald Barry, now with six operas under his belt, has established himself as one of the most strikingly original talents of the day.

The first, The Intelligence Park, given here in a new production for Music Theatre Wales by Nigel Lowery (who does his own designs and lighting), is actually an ironic deconstruction of an opera.

A composer, Paradies, is struggling with an opera of his own. His other problem is that he’s committed to marrying Jerusha, daughter of Sir Joshua Cramer, but finds himself more attracted to the girl’s singing teacher, the castrato Serafino, who is himself in love with Jerusha.

Without this summary by the librettist Vincent Deane, I wouldn’t have had a clue what was going on. However, as the text is virtually inaudible — for which Barry’s perversely angular, relentlessly syllabic word-setting is largely responsible — one is obliged to read the surtitles throughout, only to be confronted with such gems as “he must craunch the marmoset”.

Neither the text nor the score — the default position of which is staccato scampering — meaningfully projects the drama.

Lowery’s feeble, unfunny production (things are bad when it takes the bawling of the word “sodomite” to get a laugh) compounds the misery, though some resonant images are reserved for the final parts.

Both the cast (led by Michel de Souza, Rhian Lois, Stephen Richardson and Patrick Terry) and the London Sinfonietta, ably conducted by Jessica Cottis, deserve the highest praise for pitting themselves so valiantly against impossible odds.

Until October 4 (020 7304 4000, roh.org.uk)