Climb every mountain

The success of The Sound of Music has ensured its return to Cork Opera House, Colette Sheridan reports

RODGERS and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, returns to Cork Opera House next week, following the success of last summer’s production at the venue.

The enduring appeal of the musical lies in its strong semi-factual storyline, and great songs that have stood the test of time, says soprano Cara O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan plays the elderly Abbess who advises postulant Maria to see the world to help her decide whether she is suited to committing to monastic life.

O’Sullivan says that while the love story between Captain Von Trapp (Michael Sands) and Maria (Carol Ann Ryan) is the centrepoint of the musical, the feelgood factor arising out of the triumph over adversity very much contributes to the show’s popularity. That, and the showstopping songs, such as ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘My Favourite Things’, ‘Edelweiss’ and ‘Climb Every Mountain’.

The musical, directed by Bryan Flynn, opens in Salzburg, Austria, just before the Second World War. Maria is to become the governess of the seven children of widower, Captain Georg Von Trapp. She is like a breath of fresh air in a home that was formerly militaristic. The drama culminates with the family escaping from the Nazis, fleeing over the Alps.

O’Sullivan doesn’t normally appear in musicals, and was initially nervous about the role. “I seldom speak dialogue. I’ve been involved in a few operas with some spoken dialogue, including German, but not very often. I was terrified that I’d drop a line or forget a cue. But Bryan has been very helpful and reassuring.”

While O’Sullivan claims not to be able to act, she counters this by saying that as an opera singer, she obviously has innate dramatic skills.

She says she was talked into appearing in The Sound of Music, but describes the experience as a revelation. “I’ve got an awful lot from it. It’s not just that I get to sing a great song like ‘Climb Every Mountain’. I actually enjoy playing the character. I didn’t think I would. I’d be open to doing more musicals as I’d like to explore acting. It’s a different discipline to what I’m accustomed to. Normally, I’d sing a maximum of two operas a week. But with this, there are two performances a day. I actually brought a camp bed with me last summer so that I could lie down and rest in between performances.”

Another performer in the show, more used to singing than acting, is Linda Kenny, who plays the glamorous and manipulative Baroness Elsa Schrader. She is thwarted in her ambition to marry Captain Von Trapp.

“While I’m known as a singer, I’ve always done a bit of acting,” says Kenny. “At the end of the day, I’m an interpreter. I love songs that I can get stuck into, songs that have a depth of emotion. After last year’s production, I started learning drama with brilliant Cork director, Mary Curtin. I’m studying for my teacher’s diploma in acting. It’s so nice at this stage of my life to be learning something new and acquiring a new skill.

“I love to combine singing and acting. I would hate to be defined by one thing. My big fear in life is to be stagnant.”

Kenny says that while her role in the musical is small, it’s important in that it drives the plot. “The public perception of the musical is the kids and the love story between Captain Von Trapp and Maria. The chemistry between them is excellent.”

Currently touring with the Josef Locke tribute concert, Kenny will take to the stage of Cork’s Everyman Theatre on Feb 24 as part of the Everyman Song Book Series in a concert entitled Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes. “It’s nice to be able to do something where there’s a combination of singing and acting. I take what work I get. In this business, it’s all peaks and troughs.”

For Trevor Ryan, who plays Max Detweiler, Captain Von Trapp’s amoral musical agent friend, the enduring appeal of the show is its heart-warming element. “Both the story and the music are very strong, and it’s fairly timeless. There are lots of big musical numbers and they’re all instantly recognisable. The essence of a good musical is that after hearing it only once, you come out of the theatre humming it. When that happens, you’re onto a winner. The tunes in The Sound of Music are quite easy to pick up on.”

Ryan, an actor and director, describes himself as a character singer. “I wouldn’t be a frontline singer. I like musicals where you have a bit of everything; singing, dancing and acting. Musicals would be my first love.”

Ryan is enjoying working with the children in the show. “They’re like sponges. We have two wonderful bunches of children on alternating nights. They’re fascinated and in awe of the whole thing. It’s great to see their innocence. With the proliferation of social media, it’s good to see these children having a grá to do something that’s live and in the theatre.”

A lot of musicals are happy and upbeat. But Ryan likes the element of foreboding in The Sound of Music. “The Nazi threat makes the whole thing very real. Bryan has really brought that out in the actors that are playing the Nazis. They’re quite sinister without being caricatures. Their dialogue is strong. It’s very much in-your-face and not skimmed over at all.”

With the success of the film version of Les Miserables, Ryan says there is a new appetite for musicals.

“Up to the mid 1950s, you would have the story and then the songs would be just dropped in. But they didn’t make the action progress. But Rodgers and Hammerstein changed all that. Obviously, Stephen Sondheim is the greatest lyricist and musical theatre writer alive today. The next big musical that’s being adapted at the moment and produced by Disney is Into the Woods by Sondheim.”

Some musicals translate very well to the big screen, says Ryan. “For me, Les Miserables and Chicago really work as films. When I went to see Les Miserables, I was amazed that at the end of the movie, everyone clapped.”

The visuals in a musical are important. For anyone who hasn’t seen Flynn’s production of The Sound of Music, they are in for both an aural and visual treat. Flynn designed the set himself.

The musical takes place in two main locations: a baroque villa in Austria and a convent.

Flynn has said that with some shows, he might have one or two design ideas that he hands over to a set designer. But with this show, he had an instinct for what it should look like.

“There’s the dark austere world where people barely speak to one another and there’s the brighter world that is full of life.”

The Sound of Music promises to light up the Cork Opera House once again with its combination of darkness and joy and, ultimately, freedom.

*The Sound of Music is at the Cork Opera House from Feb 8-17. www.corkoperahouse.ie