Ottawa Fringe 2013. The Vanity Project

The fringe is a chance for artists to try out new ideas thus it is also a game of chance for the audience. You never know what you will get, in spite of the buzz. Such is the case with the Vanity project. This work is essentially a pop opera based on the Greek myth Narcissus whom fate has destined to loneliness because he is only able to fall in love with his own image. Oberholzer wants to explain the truth behind this but his “cautionary tale” did not show us that truth very clearly.  The score with the melodies and accompaniment are composed by Tim Oberholzer, Stewart Matthews and Rachel Eugster. An interesting initiative which unfortunately is certainly not ready to be shown in public. For the innocent audience member, it is a performance that appears to lack direction of all kinds. The actors, who often are not particularly competent, don’t seem to be sure of their movements and musical direction in general seems to be missing. Sometimes the accompaniment works against the melody giving the impression the singer is flat even though most of the voices are rather good. In general however, the whole process of vocal interpretation seems to have been ignored. Transitions between songs appear to have been given no thought at all and in general, the actors/singers  have been left to fend for themselves. I have to admit that the half masks were very classy.  Frankly though, the ensemble work  was painful to watch. Should they continue with this project? I don’t think they can tell until they bring in a real musical director who shows them how to put together a piece of light opera. At that point it might become clearer.