Review: FUNNY GIRL - LIVE STREAM at Malmö Opera

Funny Girl

Due to the Corona restrictions on a maximum of 50 people in the audience, Malmö Opera is now offering that you can buy a ticket to a live stream for SEK 100 for some performances in September so far. You have to stream it at the same time it is performed at the opera so it includes an interval of 25 minutes as well. It is really live streamed each performance so you see it exactly as the audience at the theater. When I saw it, tonight (19th of September) there was even a technical error at the beginning of the first act and then it was an empty scene we had to watch while they fixed it. It's definitely not like sitting in the theater hall and soaking up the atmosphere, but better than nothing.

Funny Girl takes place in the early 20th century when magnificent shows were staged. Fanny Brice played by Sanna Nielsen dreams of becoming the big star but she is not the typical showgirl. Her friend the choreographer Eddie Ryan (Oscar Pierrou Lindén) helps her rehearse different numbers so she eventually becomes the big star of Mr Ziegfeld (Johan Rabaeus). Fanny's big love is the player Nick Arnstein (Alexander Lycke), Nick struggels to get to terms with the fact that Fanny is is the one who earns the big money in their relationship. This feels quite dated and and it is lucky that Camilla Thulin's beautiful costumes reflect the early 20th century so you do not miss what era the show is set in. Funny Girl is a musical that is very much associated with Barbra Streisand who has made the songs People and Do Not Rain On My Parade completely immortal. Sanna Nielsen is the best in the song numbers and above all I think she shines in "The music I dance to is his" which is a number that she performs all by herself together with Malmö Opera Orchestra. Alexander Lycke and Oscar Pierrou Lindén are stronger in their acting skills than Sanna is, while in terms of singing they complement each other better. Marianne Mörck, plays Fanny's mother, is good as usual and also Ann-Louse Hansson who plays her mothers friend performs very well.

The orchestra has a prominent role in several numbers as they are on stage and not in an orchestra pit. It is a luxury to have such a large orchestra in a musical, which really lifts the musical. There are several large beautiful dance numbers with plumes and feathers performed by a strong ensemble.

As I said, it's better than nothing to watch a live-streamed performance, but what I think you miss besides the proximity and atmosphere of the theater, is that you have chosen to film close-ups and fairly fast clips quite often. This means that you miss the whole thing on stage and on some occasions the camera is on the wrong person. To get the feeling that you are in a theater, you would have benefited from filming the whole scene more so you can take part in everything that happens. Especially in the dance numbers, you want the grand. Unfortunately, it is lost a little and means that I probably would have been more impressed as a whole than I am now.

But if you like musicals, you should definitely take the opportunity and buy a live-streamed ticket because it is definitely worth the SEK 100 it costs.

Live streamed tickets are on sale here:

https://www.malmoopera.se/funny-girl-streaming

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