“Please, can we go again?” asked my three-year-old grandson after absorbing Under the Little Red Moon, a 20-minute “opera for tinies”. That’s surely a ringing endorsement from the target audience. It’s a tough challenge to hold the attention of a roomful of restless babies and toddlers for 20 minutes, but English Touring Opera generally succeeds, barring the occasional vocal protest from these demanding critics. (“It was only a little bit boring sometimes,” confided my discerning companion afterwards.)
Composer Russell Hepplewhite and writer-director Tim Yealland have created an enchanting tale with helpful suggestions from the paediatrics department at King’s College hospital, London. Lulu and Monty, two highly engaging characters, sung by soprano Rachel Speirs and bass-baritone Ben Knight, are joined by actor Gusta Matthews in a series of tiny scenes that tell the story of the moon, who is upset to be glowing red. She looks in a mirror, and we all look in little mirrors. The mirrors make us think of water; exotic fish and jellyfish swim around us. When the moon sets, rabbits come out to play with their babies. (“That’s not a baby rabbit,” said the observant junior member of the Critics’ Circle. “It’s a flannel.”) The moon rises, happy to no longer be red, and tells us it’s time for bed. After the applause, the children rushed to handle the props and talk to the cast. My 13-month-old second grandson made a beeline for Speirs and promptly sat on her lap.
