Prokofiev: L’Amour des Trois Oranges at RNCM
Johnny James, Managing EditorBook now
Prokofiev: L’Amour des Trois Oranges
Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.
A magical curse, a burst of laughter, and three tantalising oranges… Prokofiev’s L’Amour des Trois Oranges is a delectable cocktail of satire, slapstick and fairy tale – a zesty, irreverent antidote to operatic solemnity.
The melancholic Prince can only be cured by laughter, so the King of Clubs orders a party to lift his spirits. But when the wicked witch Fata Morgana gets involved, the cure becomes a ridiculous curse: the Prince must fall madly in love with… three oranges. Swept into a surreal quest with his jester Truffaldino, he encounters magic, mishaps and a love story as ridiculous as it is enchanting.
Prokofiev’s rare comic opera (after Carlo Gozzi’s L’amore delle tre melarance) is packed with wit and bright-edged modernism. The score slips from magical lyricism to biting irony in a heartbeat – all spiky rhythms, luminous melodies and deadpan punchlines – with that famous March strutting through like a character of its own. At the RNCM, conductor Lee Reynolds and director Mark Burns shape those quick-cut contrasts for the stage, with the Opera Orchestra and Chorus performing in French, surtitled in English.
Part of the College’s year-long Legends and Lore series, L’Amour des Trois Oranges combines fairy-tale logic, sharp wit and tunes that stick.
Part of the RNCM’s Autumn Season.
