Review: Flight – State Opera South Australia, Her Majesty’s Theatre

State Opera South Australia’s production of Flight is an exhilarating, emotionally astute, and visually dazzling night at the theatre. With Jonathan Dove’s vibrant score and April De Angelis’ sparkling libretto brought to full, glorious life under the direction of Stephen Barlow, this production soars with wit, sexiness, and a sharp-edged sense of contemporary humanity.

Based loosely on the true story of a refugee stranded in an airport, Flight unfolds within the liminal space of a terminal, where characters from all walks of life are temporarily grounded; physically and metaphorically. The opera’s mixture of comedy, pathos, and social commentary makes it fertile ground for an ensemble-driven showcase, and this cast delivers with gusto.

James Laing is extraordinary as The Refugee, combining vulnerability and mystery with a captivating countertenor warmth. His nuanced performance gives the opera its aching emotional core, balancing beautifully with the otherwise fast-paced, often farcical scenes. Anna Voshege’s Controller floats above the action in both literal and vocal terms, her crystalline soprano and commanding stage presence making her a magnetic, omniscient figure. Her interactions – especially her voyeuristic delight in the chaos below – are laced with a delicious mix of control and desire.

Dove’s music, deftly navigated by conductor Charlotte Corderoy, is as restless and multifaceted as the airport setting itself. Corderoy coaxes out the shimmering textures and propulsive energy of the score with assurance, letting its lyricism breathe without losing momentum. The orchestra’s precision and playfulness underline the opera’s emotional shifts, from absurdity to tenderness, without missing a beat.

Barlow’s direction leans into the opera’s innate theatricality, leaning on its sass and irreverence. Nowhere is this more evident than in the comic yet painfully real scenes between Nina Korbe’s Tina and Henry Choo’s Bill – a couple testing the strength of their marriage in wildly unpredictable (and airborne) ways.

Cherie Boogaart brings gentle comic grace to The Older Woman, whose yearning for love touches unexpectedly deep emotional notes. Ashlyn Tymms and Samuel Dale Johnson are delightfully snarky as The Stewardess and Steward, turning sass into an art form. Their chemistry is electric [particularly in the elevator!] and their arias pop with contemporary bite.

The sex scene between Johnson and Choo, staged mid-air in the control room with exaggerated melodrama, is both riotously funny and revealing.

Jeremy Tatchell and Fiona McArdle, as the Eastern European diplomats caught in their own bizarre cycle of diplomacy and domesticity, provide some of the opera’s most satirical moments, while Teddy Tahu Rhodes’ booming gravitas as The Immigration Officer introduces a menacing undercurrent that never quite tips into caricature.

Visually, the production is nothing short of stunning. Andrew Riley’s set design turns the stage into a fully immersive, hyper realistic airport that blends functionality with theatrical flair. The Controller’s elevated control room, sliding elevator doors are detailed to the point of cinematic realism. Richard Howell’s lighting pulses with airport-neon unease, and Jack Henry James Fox’s projections add texture and depth; panoramic visuals of planes landing, weather disturbances, suggesting both the transience of flight and the claustrophobia of confinement.

This is a Flight with bite and brilliance – suggestive, smart, and emotionally charged.

State Opera South Australia has crafted a production that entertains as much as it provokes, reminding us that even in transit, our lives – and our longings – are fully in motion.

4.5 Stars

Lia Loves.