Musical Theatre / Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera. At Sydney Theatre Company, Wharf 1 Theatre until January 25. Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

It’s hard to think of a more perfect subject for an opera than the story of Las Vegas entertainers Siegfried and Roy.

Their lives, lived on a grand scale, were as illusionary as the feats of magic with which they intrigued audience throughout their stellar careers.

Yet it’s taken the imaginations of a couple of creatives from Down Under, both with impressive operatic chops, Luke Di Somma (music) and Constantine Costi (direction), to recognise the potential of their story and bring it to the stage as a sung-through, tragicomedy opera.

German magicians and entertainers Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, had met on a cruise ship and began performing magic together as Siegfried and Roy on the European nightclub circuit. Their act involved a white tiger.

Publicly living a life of operatic proportions,  their careers came to a sudden halt when on his 59^th birthday, during their act at the Mirage, Roy was sensationally mauled by his favourite white tiger, Mantacore.

Di Somma and Costi have managed to compress their remarkable story, commencing with Siegfried and Roy being introduced at the end of their careers, into a tight 90-minute tragicomedy performed without interval,

As Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, Christopher Tonkin and Kanen Breen, both fine opera singers, brilliantly create unforgettable characters who dazzle on the surface but leave an aftertaste of seediness.

The action reverts to 1947 where Roy is discovered performing simple magic tricks at the beginning of his career before he acquires the tiger, Mantacore, the third ominous character in their story.

Particularly notable throughout is the clarity of the diction of all the singers, mostly alumni of Opera Australia, portray the major movers and shakers – Danielle Bavli portrays an ambitious social climber, Tabby Chateaubriand, while Louis Hurley is Roy’s young protégé and lover, Tyler D’Amor. Simon Lobelson portrays an opportunistic agent, Randy Reggiano.

Cathy-Di Zhang, surely the only soprano ever to sing a stratospheric aria while cut in half, portrays their manager and confidant, Nancy White.

Russell Harcourt provides the voice of Mantacore, while Kirby Myers, besides her role as a leggy showgirl, assists puppeteer Tomas Ramaili breathe life into the amazing adult tiger puppet.

A surprising aspect of this production was how quickly it established itself as a serious opera rather than the clever satirical romp it could have so easily have been.

Costi has exhibited directorial brilliance by keeping a tight rein on his concept to maintain a high-camp ambiance demanded by the storyline, while creating believable, entertaining characters.

Drawing on the lighting wizardry of Damien Cooper, set and property designer, Pip Runciman has achieved miracles by successfully transforming the Wharf 1 theatre into an approximation of a Las Vegas showroom, while Tim Chappel’s costumes wittily combine glamour and gaudiness in equal measure, and the amazing puppets created by Erth Visual & Physical to portray Roy’s tiger, Mantacore, first as a kitten, then fully-grown, manage to steal every scene in which they appear.

The team has created a remarkable, which deserves to be seen by a wider audience than those fortunate enough to experience it during its comparatively short, world-premiere Sydney Festival season.