Notes of 2006 Sofia Coppola with 1755 baroque grandeur – Liberata Collective
Isla popped back to eighteenth century France with Liberata Collective and got the read on Marie Antoinette for Young Critics.
On Wednesday last week I had the opportunity to see Liberata Collective’s new opera ‘Antonia’. This opera featured well known classical music alongside new monologues. It followed French Queen Marie Antoinette from her arrival in France to her death, centring music as an emotional and political landscape.
Olivia Douteny’s performance dynamically blended notes of 2006 Sofia Coppola with 1755 baroque grandeur and the perspectives of hundreds of historians. While we were all blown away by songs soaring as high as the rococo wig Douteny wore, her empathy for Marie, charmed by music and musicians, made this piece. I also felt that Douteny and Susanna MacRae tackled the challenge of portraying a woman, and a Queen no less, whose inner world is lost to history.
Though not pantomime-y, moments of Douteny’s performance flashed farcical, and I loved that Liberata Collective embraced the absurdity of bringing the last Queen of France to life through opera. Douteny’s Marie took a girlish joy in singing pieces Marie listened to in life, which was engaging to watch. Coming at the same time as the V&A’s Marie Antionette Style, Antonia is clearly capturing the zeitgeist- though again, when does Marie Antionette not influence the zeitgeist? This is exactly why it makes perfect sense to tell her story through baroque opera for a modern audience, just as the V&A proved her style transcended her century.
A word must also be given to the instrumentalists, who skilfully played while wearing 18th century outfits in the middle of the July heatwave. We were all very grateful for our fans (yes, I felt like a lady at the French court!). Despite this challenge, all four performers executed Douteny and MacRae’s vision wonderfully. Thank you to Liberata Collective and Lichfield Festival for giving me the opportunity to see such a quirky and delightful show!
By Isla B
Isla is in Y13 preparing to go to university to study History, in time she would love to write as part of her career, or maybe work in museums. She reads lots of historians but a favourite author is Margaret Atwood. Young Critics was a fantastic credit applying to university and has given her lots of opportunities to hear from some great authors.
If you’re aged 11-18 and would like to be a festival reviewer, applications will open soon for Young Critics – find out more on our website https://lichfieldfestival.org/aspire/young-critics/