Quartet (Harwood)
| Quartet | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Ronald Harwood |
| Characters | Reggie Wilfred Jean Cecily |
| Date premiered | September 8, 1999 |
| Place premiered | Albery Theatre, London |
| Original language | English |
Quartet is a play by Ronald Harwood about aging opera singers.
The play, presented by Michael Codron, was first directed by Christopher Morahan at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford prior to its West End opening at the Albery Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) on 8 September 1999 starring Sir Donald Sinden, Alec McCowen, Stephanie Cole and Angela Thorne. Following a four-month run it closed on 8 January 2000.
A regional tour from June to August 2010 enjoyed success with Michael Jayston as Reggie, Timothy West as Wilfred, Susannah York as Jean, and Gwen Taylor as Cecily.
The setting is a retirement home for musicians. Three elderly former opera-singers, who often worked together, are sitting out on the terrace. Reginald, played by Alec McCowen, is quietly reading a serious book, but Donald Sinden's jovial, Wilfred is chuckling about sex, as he regards Cissy (Stephanie Cole), lying back and listening to music through her headphones.
They are about to be joined by newcomer Jean, played by Angela Thorne, who was a major star in her day and to whom Reginald was once unhappily married.
Is there any chance that these four will ever sing together again? A gala concert is about to take place at the retirement home to celebrate Verdi's birthday. Three of the four are keen to recreate the third act quartet "Bella figlia dell'amore" from Rigoletto and one is not. But the play eventually moves to an uncertain conclusion when they don costumes and lip-synch to their own retro recording.
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