Based on Giovanni Paisiello’s opera buffa The Imaginary Astrologer, James Farwell’s musical comedy The Fabulist reimagines Paisiello’s light-hearted satire of astrology as a farcical romantic comedy.
The story follows magician (“fabulist”) Agrofontido (Dan Smith) and his companion Pupuppini (Constantine Andronikou) as they encounter film director Cassandra (Lily de la Haye) and her sister Clarice (Réka Jónás) at her movie studio. Agrofontido instantly falls for Clarice, but to win her heart, he must first gain the approval of their father, Count Petronius (James Paterson), an ardent astronomer, and their uncle, Cardinal Bandini (Stuart Pendred), a religious zealot with a deep-seated disdain for magicians.
At the core of Paisiello’s original work lies a critique of superstition, astrology, and magic power, celebrating science as the symbol of Enlightenment, reason, and knowledge—likely one of the reasons Mozart admired it. In The Fabulist, however, Farwell and director John Walton intend to rebuke it, attempting to reconcile magic and science by claiming that “magic and science offer parallel paths to truth” through the thread of love.
This could definitely be worth further examination, as magic and science have always historically been in stark contrast. Nevertheless, it raises questions about the decision to set the story in 1929 Italy under the reign of Mussolini, in which the historical context of fascism adds little depth. Many of the plot twists feel forced, particularly Agrofontido’s weird introduction. He and Pupuppini brutally appear in Cassandra’s studio without any context or pretext, proclaiming himself as a magician with literally zero character build-up or narrative foreshadowing.
Besides the theme of reason and knowledge, Paisiello’s operetta also embeds ample elements of Commedia dell’Arte, which is, unfortunately, superficially reflected through exaggerated cartoonish performing style as well as physical farce. Jónás, one of the best sopranos of the night, portrays Clarice as a pretentious, noisy, and chatty sparrow with her high-pitched squealing and screeching all the time. On the contrary, de la Haye’s Cassandra catches the essence of Commedia dell’Arte, portraying a savvy businesswoman with subtle tenderness and a mild sense of humour.
All performers are great operetta singers, singing in operatic style rather than conventional “musical theatre” style. They are accompanied by a brilliant orchestra of five, including one keyboard (Samuel Woolf & Varia Doletskaya-Pidgen), two violins (Eliza Burkitt and Eloise MacDonald), one cello (Josie Campbell), and one flute/clarinet (Fraiser Patterson). While the cast are singing lyrics written by Farwell, the orchestra faithfully interprets Paisiello’s score that also has a great impact on Mozart, especially the melodic use of flute and clarinet.
Paisiello’s The Imaginary Astrologer feels like a creek, maybe a bit shallow but always clear. The Fabulist is ambitious, intending to interweave science, magic, religion, love, and fascism into one single story based on satire and farce, resulting in a show that is quite muddy both in texture and in quality
