Review of Y Tŵr at the Buxton Festival

Y Tŵr (The Tower) is a two-hander opera in Welsh by Guto Puw, with libretto by Gwyneth Glyn, based on a play of the same name by Gwenlyn Parry. It was brought to the Buxton Festival by Music Theatre Wales after premiering at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in May, having been commissioned and produced jointly by Music Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, the Welsh-language national theatre of Wales.

It’s about a couple, whom we see in the first flush of young love, then in middle age, and finally when they’re old and facing death. Bit of a downer, that last act, and if there’s a positive message of any kind it’s that in the end they do find they’ve made a partnership of a kind that survives through thick and thin – including his frustration in his career and her infidelity. In each section of their lives the idea of a passing train is introduced (sandpaper sound effects and a 'ragtimey' theme in the orchestra) and she describes a dream about a butterfly – beautiful and quite powerful symbols which you can interpret as you wish … the Elusive Butterfly of Love was the song that came to mind for me.

So where does the Tower come into it? That’s also up to us to interpret, as it seems to stand for different things at different times (in the middle act, I think it represents his belief in ‘success’, and in the final one they speak of having been to the top and come down again). Gwyneth Glyn’s note explains that it’s a metaphor for their relationship and also for life’s challenges and expectations.

We don’t actually see a tower in Michael McCarthy’s production, however – just a ladder at the back of the stage. Nor of course do we see the train – though the sandpaper choo-choo effect tells you it’s a steam one, which jars a bit with the present-day costuming.

The score is subtle and at times beautiful, with some rather obvious ‘ascending’ and ‘descending’ motifs, and touching on tonal language only when the melody of a Welsh lullaby is introduced towards the end of each act. That brings a halo of recognition each time it comes and makes an attractive contribution.

Everything depends on the acting and singing of the two protagonists, of course, and they are both good: not surprisingly, Gwion Thomas (as ‘Male’) is better at being the middle-aged and old characters than the young one, and Caryl Hughes (‘Female’) far better as the young thing in love than her later counterparts.

A thoughtful piece, and one with some notable aspects.

Gwion Thomas and Caryl Hughes in Y Tŵr