Based on Hogarth’s 18th-century paintings, Stravinsky’s operatic farewell to neo-classicism charts Tom Rakewell’s ironic “progress” from blissful ignorance to Bedlam, discarding on the way the ever-faithful and appropriately named Anne Trulove and succumbing to the temptations of Nick Shadow in the guise of the devil. It’s an opera that seems tailor-made for young singers as this third production in just over twenty years by British Youth Opera seems to suggest. With its unflattering acoustic and low ceilings, the Peacock Theatre may not be an ideal venue, but these assured young performers, many still studying at conservatoires and on the verge of shiny careers, put on a highly credible show. Despite occasional problems with diction (Auden and Kallman's libretto would have benefited from surtitles) and orchestral balance, this Rake’s Progress is a fine achievement, its success arising from clearly defined performances that hold the ear and eye throughout its emotionally-charged trajectory.
There’s much to admire too from director Stephen Unwin and designer James Cotterill who place Stravinsky’s morality tale in the 1950s (the decade of its composition) and Georgian London. Sets are unfussy, in some scenes minimal, and make their biggest impact whenever the chorus is involved, such as for Mother Goose’s atmospherically-lit brothel and Sellem’s junk-filled auction. The pace here is impressive too. An uncluttered asylum scene, with its white-clad inmates (as if the angels had already taken the chorus to heaven) brings painful focus to Tom’s descent into madness. But there are some deft and unobtrusive touches too, such as the single lily across the backcloth for the opening garden scene as a symbol of Anne Trulove’s devotion to her feckless lover Tom Rakewell.