That Bastard, Puccini! review — music, mischief and silky wit
What makes this nimble production at the Park Theatre in London so seductive is that the tale of ambition and skulduggery is drenched in cleverly weighted meta asides. Inverne, a former editor of Gramophone whose debut play, A Walk with Mr Heifetz, ran off-Broadway in 2018, wraps his research in layers of humour and self-referential nods and winks.
And at the heart of it all is a winningly mischievous performance by Sebastien Torkia as a Puccini who is a suave wheeler-dealer and womaniser. It's not so long since I saw Torkia bring an ever-grinning facsimile of Silvio Berlusconi to life in a bio-musical of that corrupt old rogue. This year he played both Professor Van Helsing and a simpering Mina Harker in the rumbustious vampire farce Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors. He is a silky comic force.
• Read more theatre reviews, guides and interviews
We first see his boulevardier eavesdropping on poor Leoncavallo (Alasdair Buchan) and his ever-supportive wife, Berthe (Lisa-Anne Wood). Dogged by fears that he is destined to be a one-hit wonder, the composer of Pagliacci is outraged that the man he thinks of as a friend is muscling in on his plans to bring Henri Murger's stories of wayward Parisian bohos to the stage.
Puccini denies stealing the idea, of course, and as their feud bubbles away, he feels free to lecture his rival on the meaning of creativity. Inverne allows his characters to catch each other using language drawn from the psychobabble of our own day. Buchan's mournful, dishevelled Leoncavallo always wins our sympathy, and there are even moments when he seems close to grabbing the glory at Venice's La Fenice. Wood is kept busy too, singing the occasional aria, transforming herself into Puccini's formidable wife, Elvira, and even joining Gorka in delivering a hilarious impersonation of a pernicketty Gustav Mahler who, as Vienna's leading conductor, wields godlike power over the two Italians.
Could the sewing up of loose ends in the final 20 minutes have been tighter? Perhaps. Still, the director Daniel Slater, a familiar face on the opera circuit, administers it all with a light touch. Carly Brownbridge's handsome set smuggles musical notation onto the floor. In this quirky realm, a chaise longue can become a gondola.★★★★☆120minPark Theatre, London, to Aug 9, parktheatre.co.ukFollow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Winona Ryder confessed her love to this iconic actor
Winona Ryder revealed she was "absolutely in love" with Al Pacino during the 1990s when they worked together on films such as Looking For Richard and Simone. She confessed her feelings to Pacino after he took her on coffee tours in New York, but he did not reciprocate her affections. Despite her unrequited love, Ryder stated that she and Pacino remain friends and occasionally play poker together. Ryder also credited Laura Dern for guiding her through the early stages of her acting career, describing Dern as a crucial mentor. She highlighted her habit of maintaining friendships with co-stars, including Keanu Reeves, with whom she still exchanges messages referring to each other as " husband" and " wife" following their on-set marriage in Dracula.
Evening Standard
3 days ago
- Evening Standard
Claudia Winkleman to host Traitors-themed Proms
'The hit BBC TV series, which drew in an average audience of more than 10 million for Series 3, features a variety of classical music to punctuate the action from the Scottish Highlands castle. The Traitors Prom will playfully feature these well-known classical works from composers including Mozart, Puccini and Tchaikovsky alongside so called 'Traitors Pop': gothic and symphonic versions of chart tracks by artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Britney Spears and The Hanging Tree, which plays a very special part in every series of The Traitors.
Daily Record
17-07-2025
- Daily Record
This Morning's Cat Deeley 'close to tears' after receiving blood test results live on air
Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard were left shocked when a doctor explained the results of their tests that really shook the pair. Cat Deeley was nearly in tears after what was described a "nightmare" examination by medics revealed her "biological" age during Thursday's show. The host returned to her regular position on This Morning with Ben Shephard on Thursday. It marked her last programme before the summer holidays, and the pair of presenters were left fascinated to discover the concept of reducing one's age to better comprehend health and longevity. Dr Alka Patel, 53, outlined on the ITV show that she has managed to classify herself as a 20-year-old biologically, since a birthday represents merely "chronological age", whilst "biological age" relates more to cellular health and constitutes an "inner age". Terming the approach "younger ageing", she clarified that it all connects to lifespan and overall wellbeing. Both Ben, 50, and Cat, 48, had undergone blood testing, which considers their general health and fitness to establish a fresh figure for them. Former model Cat was nearly tearful as she observed the results arriving, feeling rather apprehensive about the test's findings as reported by the Mirror. Confessing what a dreadful ordeal the examination had initially been, she remarked: "It was a nightmare for me, doctors only had to attempt it twice. I was crying. I'm a terrible sleeper, but I'm very healthy, I eat well and I drink loads of water, and I do yoga. I could be like Gary Oldman in Dracula!" As the numbers continued to go down, Ben excalimed: "She's still going, I want a recount," and as the figure settled, an emotional Cat declared she "might cry," upon discovering her biological age was 33, making it 15 years below her actual age. Overwhelmed by the results, especially considering her lack of sleep, she expressed: "I might cry, I might actually cry. I don't know how I've done it because I certainly don't sleep and that is one of the most important factors!" Meanwhile, Ben was left bitter with his biological age being only four years younger, despite his keen attention to health and wellbeing. The doctor's advice to "be more Goldilocks" sparked amusement, with his co-host teasing about needing a wig and a bowl of porridge. Ben meanwhile confessed his primary focus on fitness is for mental wellbeing, stating: "For me, the health and wellness is much more important for me mentally rather than how I feel with the physical side of things." Having celebrated his 50th birthday in December, Ben boldly posed shirtless for a magazine cover. However, during a recent chat on ITV's Lorraine, he candidly updated fans on his health acknowledging that his body isn't quite the same as before. The television star couldn't hide his shy response as he sat alongside the Scottish host, who displayed the magazine cover on screen for viewers. The discussion then shifted to what it signified for Ben to feature on Men's Health's front page for the second time in his career. "You look fantastic but I know you work so hard to maintain your health and fitness," Lorraine gushed, whilst Ben acknowledged that despite being in excellent condition, reaching middle age has made him recognise the necessity of putting in additional work. Discussing his present health, Ben observed: "I'm very grateful to still be able to still be able to be fit and health and I know I've got various issues and my body's not quite what it used to be."
