The UK premier of the opera Marx in London! on February 13 in Glasgow is a comedic take on Karl Marx’s time spent in London. Its twists and turns look at his legacy through an ironic lens.
Jonathan Dove and Charles Hart’s opera turns the world on its head and questions Karl Marx as the historical figure we know. In this opera, Marx is a visionary but a selfish man, neglectful father and unfaithful husband at the same time.
The opera unfolds in London in 1871, within the Marx household, over a tumultuous 24 hours. Karl Marx struggles with debt while working on the second volume of Capital (Das Kapital). Bailiffs confiscate the family furniture, and Marx has no choice but to attempt to sell his wife’s beloved silvers. However, he gets them stolen on the way. Throughout the opera, we watch the Marx family solve their financial issues, overcome family drama, discover spies and more.
The musical themes and motives are enjoyable and characteristic of the individual figures. For some playful scenes, however, the tunes feel long and almost dragging.
The characters are fun to watch on stage. Engles wins the audience over when he first enters with angel wings, and an old bicycle, a velocipede. Marx’s wife, Jenny, is another showstopper character. She is funny, dramatic and has a larger-than-life personality. She calls Marx “the Alpha and Omega” of her pain in one of her arias and earns a lot of laughter from the audience.
Tussi, Marx’s daughter, is the only character who sometimes feels one-note and even annoying.
What absolutely won me over is the set design. The whole stage looks like it sprung out of a painting. The moving London map when the characters spend time in London city is fitting and original. The beautifully thought-out costumes add further colour to the stage.
The scenes with a singing choir holding protest signs show the power of community and workers’ rights. It is a powerful sequence to showcase Marx’s influence on modern-day civil rights and unions.
The opera ends with a picnic and a stunning view of 19th-century London that slowly dissolves into the current London skyline.
Marx in London! looks at Karl Marx’s character and legacy from a funny angle. It is a refreshing new perspective. Yes, it has sequences that feel too long. However, scenes like the protest choir or the picnic at the end make you think about the impact of his work on current Western philosophy and ideology. Through his self-centred actions, the opera also questions Marx’s motivations and him as the person behind the genius.
Feature image credit: James Glossop for Scottish Opera
