A warm-toned grand piano played by David Burchell is the perfect introduction to this 19th-century French opera with a 21st-century vibe. While Hanover Hall is not quite as old as the music (Chabrier wrote Une Education Manquee in 1879), the DSO’s home does have a historic feel, befitting the style and attitudes of Chabrier’s piece. The building lends itself to intimate works such as this where the voices of singers placed at the centre easily fill the auditorium and actors can engage with audience on all four sides.

                   The plot is simple: bride Helene (soprano Jemma Chester) and groom Gontran (baritone Scott Bezett) arrive home for their wedding night, without any knowledge of what newly-weds are meant to do. The aunty of one and grandfather of the other, who were supposed to give a few ‘pointers’, fail to live up to expectations, so the two have to sort it out on their own.

                   They’re not quite alone, however. The first of six numbers is given over to the stumbling embarrassment of Gontran’s tutor, Pausanias (a suitably dishevelled Frederico Freschi), who has taught the boy many facts of life, but not these ones. His Ode to Wine acts not as a prelude to love but a full-stop to understanding, quoted bits from Grandfather’s letter revealing that he, too, has nothing to bring to the party. The old man’s advice? ‘Nature must suffice’.

                   When the absent Aunty’s tips also fall short on detail, the groom turns to Google on his phone, wondering if he can ‘fake it till I make it’. Helene, of course, also has a phone, which leads to despairing searches by both parties. There is a sort of equality in this, even though Helene is thrilled to call her new husband ‘Master’. It’s been hard, however, for the singers to play the conventional roles without overdoing the stereotypes.

                   Chester’s love-duet with Bezett shows both characters as tentative and naive, which are quite endearing qualities; I can sympathize with anyone who fails to find answers on the net. Sound designer Matthew Morgan has made the random noises emitted by the phones (sheep, at one point) so unhelpful that Helene goes off to her bed, comically unaware of the pervading irony. “If you know anything else,’ she sings, ‘will you let me know?’ (You don’t know what you don’t know.)

                   The fourth number, ‘Let Us Recapitulate’, is a hilarious duet between Gontran and his tutor, in which the multiple subjects of the boy’s education are rehearsed in Gilbertian lists: Greek, Hebrew, metaphysics, therapeutics, dialectics, agro-economics, hydrotherapy – none of it is enough, says Gontran: ‘You didn’t teach me… my education is incomplete.’ The music rises to a crescendo as sounds of soft porn emanate from a phone: ‘There’s something else you never taught me…’ Pausanias is caught out. ‘It’s not in my sphere of expertise… not my fault…not in the curriculum…’ Gontran retaliates with contemporary insults, in a well-formed tantrum that was building all through the scene.

                   Still laughing after this verbal and aural storm, I particularly enjoyed Gontran’s subsequent aria which delivered his romantic melancholy as the quintessence of honeymoon nerves. Gontran’s part is clearly considered the main one, and Bezett does not let us down in conveying the opera’s major irony: the delicate balance of youth being painfully self-conscious but also unaware. The last duet with Helene is delicious, of course. ‘Snuggle Close’ was the advice the audience wanted to give the lovers all along.

                   The designers (Matthew Morgan, Jordan Wichman and Poppy Mitchell) have set a trap for us, with seductive costuming and set – though the lighting is a bit glaring for some. Lightning and thunder at important plot points ensure we don’t get too comfortable with the laid-back style. Kim Morgan’s direction is thorough, with contrasts of mood, pace and timing excellent, the three singers giving their all. When the whole production works to determine our responses, we are carried along by Chabrier’s delightful music to an expected happy end. 

                   Strange how such a short (45 mins), funny, silly fairy-tale can be so satisfying. 

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