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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Barry Millington

Festen at The Royal Opera review: gripping adaptation of a taboo-breaking film masterpiece

the Royal Opera MarkAnthony Turnage Thomas Vinterberg Helena Marc Brenner John Tomlinson Linda Natalya Romaniw
Allan Clayton (Christian) in Festen, The Royal Opera - (Marc Brenner)

Thomas Vinterberg’s taboo-busting 1998 film Festen (The Celebration) centred around a 60th birthday party at which the respected head of household is gradually revealed as a monstrous child abuser. From testimonies by his son, Christian, and deceased daughter Linda (read out by her sister Helena) we learn the terrible truth. Not only did he rape his children but the traumatised girl subsequently took her life.

In its skilful unfolding of plot, not to mention the aria-like accusations and the festive atmosphere of the party before the mood turns grim, crying out for choral treatment, the story is positively operatic. And this is the triumph of Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Lee Hall: that they have succeeded in putting musico-dramatic flesh on a masterpiece of another genre.

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