Glyndebourne marks 30 years of its innovative education programme with the launch of a substantial new opera based on the award-winning novel by the Danish writer Janne Teller. Nothing tells how 14-year-old student Pierre decides that life is meaningless. In the manner of an ancient sage, he climbs a plum tree from which to preach his nihilistic gospel and refuses to come down.
In an attempt to counter his arguments, his fellow pupils collect objects of special personal significance, creating a sacrificial heap of meaning. However, the fact that both object and owner are nominated by a pupil who has, in the same way, just been forced to donate a possession against their will leads to increasingly painful choices and, ultimately, to outright sadism.
Glyn Maxwell’s libretto softens some of the novel’s darker aspects. One or two of the collection’s more troubling or intimate items are jettisoned, such as Muslim pupil Hussain’s prayer mat. Others are altered: the coffin of a younger brother and a head cut from a live dog are amalgamated into a coffin containing the remains of a dead pet.
Instead of the intense personal dynamics between Teller’s small group of participants, the group has grown into an entire school class – here presented with unanimous and energetic commitment by Glyndebourne’s Youth Chorus – but the final scenes raise the dramatic stakes.
The work is confidently delivered by the Southbank Sinfonia under Sian Edwards with a group of young principals. Among them, Stuart Jackson’s phlegmatic Pierre and Robyn Allegra Parton’s increasingly troubled Agnes provide standouts. David Bruce’s eclectic score borrows liberally from Monteverdi and folk music, though it does not always project a firm identity of its own. An overture accompanying visuals of an expanding cosmos is a highlight, however.
Full marks for Giles Cadle’s intricate revolving set, while Bijan Sheibani’s focused production is finely executed, its high performance standards indicating that the company’s educational wing still leads the field.
