Directed by Joseph Losey, script by Harold Pinter, starring Terence Stamp and Dirk Bogarde; it’s such a great film you could see it twice – and I have; Modesty Blaise.
It’s based on the eponymous cartoon strip. Adapting a cartoon strip for theatre or screen does not always please, no matter how good the original material is. I saw Andy Capp in 1982; an unsuccessful musical adaption of The Daily Mirror cartoon. In the strip Andy’s much put-upon wife, Flo, complains she is always playing second fiddle. Andy tells her she’s lucky to be in the band.
This week I saw a magical interpretation of a Czech cartoon strip – you’ve got there before me – it’s Janáček‘s Cunning Little Vixen. Strangely for opera there’s not a lot of singing but the heroine does die. There are loads of orchestral interludes, as one of my friends said, reminiscent of Richard Strauss. There are, I think, no tunes; it’s not Verdi but the music is haunting and unforgettably beautiful.
I was at Opera Holland Park (again) and their production is a delight. The foxes scoff Pret sandwiches, as urban foxes do, badger lives in a green wheelie bin, and the vixen talks to the conductor (Jessica Cottis). This was appropriate as with her auburn pony tail she looked foxy. There were cohorts of children prancing around pretending to be dragon flies, etc. It’s an enchanting opera and OHP caught its spirit without breaking the bank budget-wise.