DESMOND J. FLANNERY'S
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
AN INTERVIEW WITH DESMOND
Extracts reprinted from "Stage Whispers" volume 9, number 1
The Jackal's Tale
Karen Tayleur talks to Desmond J. Flannery, creator of The Jackal, a new operatic musical, upon the release of the soundtrack CD.
Five years in the making, Desmond J. Flannery's concept soundtrack CD of his new, operatic musical "The Jackal" - a radical interpretation of Charles Dickens' A Tale Of Two Cities is now available.
I began by asking why, with such a well known and accepted title, did Desmond choose to call his musical The Jackal?
"Good question. After two years of writing and development, what I had was a fairly radical, contemporary rock opera. I had moved quite a distance away from the original text and was focusing on the tension between two of the principal characters - the pompous lawyer Stryver and Sydney Carton, his disgruntled dogsbody assistant - his jackal. So I felt I needed to find a different title to adequately reflect this change. Believe it or not, it still took me another 18 months before I finally settled on the name - and the irony is that it's actually the name of a chapter in the book!"
But why Tale in the first place?
"Dickens' material is so extensive. Even though the plot's all about class discrimination, conspiracy, murder, mayhem and despair, we're also talking love, honour and redemption. But, when you boil it all down, it's essentially about two people - Carton and Lucie Manette - caught in the middle of an impossible situation. It's how Carton evolves from this 'Hud-like'dissolute drunk and all round anti-hero, into a romantic icon who makes the ultimate sacrifice for the woman he loves. It's got everything - and it's timeless. It could well happen tomorrow!"
But isn't The Jackal just another Les Miserables?
"Certainly not! First of all, there's a time difference of around 40 years between the two stories and secondly, when I finished writing The Jackal, I still had not seen Les Mis [I must have been just about the only one in the world not to have!]. I've subsequently seen it of course and it's terrific but, fortunately for me, the music and libretto of the two shows couldn't be further apart. Neil Osborne has co-produced and arranged the album with me, the result being that while The Jackal score contains a lush orchestral sound, we've quite deliberately given it an edge by adding the "hard guitars." Plus, I was careful to ensure that the libretto maintained the momentum by periodically salting it with contemporary jargon."
Let's talk about the people on the CD. You've got some interesting names we all know and some we don't.
"Yes. Although there are four main characters, I needed lots of different voices for the many minor roles and cameos. I ended up with an exciting ensemble of 23 and I'm delighted with the result.
'John Wood, of Blue Heelers fame, makes a wonderfully wistful Doctor Manette on "Follow Your Heart", while John Waters [as the Marquis St. Evremonde] and Russell Morris [Gaspard] are both marvellously evil and sinister in their confrontational piece "Only A Child". Normie Rowe as the wise old owl Gabelle combines brilliantly with Russell and theatre stalwarts Glenda Walsh, DJ Foster and Paul Baden on one of the most popular numbers "Terpsichore For Toffs". It's a slightly bent minuet, a real company within a company piece, with Gabelle trying to warn the Aristocrats [Foster, Baden and Craig Martin] of the danger they face come the revolution. I had never worked with DJ before and it was a joy to see what he and Craig did with their characters, whereas with Glenda and Paul, we'd known each other for years. Glenda from a music hall show we worked in [and still try to forget!] & Paul from our time together in the West End production of Jesus Christ Superstar in the early 80's."
Is there anyone else we should look out for?
"Of the less familiar names, watch out for Thomas Bromhead. He plays Stryver in the point song "The Wisdom Of Stryver". His brief was to create a sound somewhere between Rex Harrison and Noel Ferrier, but somehow he's also managed to get a little of Frank Thring into it. What a concoction! Zipporah Szalay is another impressive new talent. As Lucie she has just the right amount of fragility & with an extremely distinctive voice & the looks of a young Ava Gardner, has the world at her feet."
"But, undoubtedly, the major performance belongs to Lorenzo Iannotti, who plays Sydney Carton. He has a remarkable understanding of how to interpret a lyric [most evident in the title track] and his vocals on "Till You", "Light Upon The Hill" and "The Me That I Shall Be" are just breathtaking! I believe he could become a major star in this area of music."
So where to from here for The Jackal?
"Of course, something as challenging as The Jackal is difficult to originate here but we now live in a global village and I've always seen the show working anywhere. My burgeoning production team reflects this too. The Stage Director/Choreographer is Johnny Worthy, whose West End performing credits are as long as your arm and who has, over the past five or so years, successfully branched out into directing. Cologne based Musical Director Noel Stevens has, since 1988, been associated with most of the major musicals touring Europe and the illusions will be produced by acclaimed magician Ross Skiffington - right here in Melbourne. So, all we need is the money!"
Website Design by Tanina Forti of ODR Studios