The historic 1973 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match has been transformed into a vibrant, all-singing, all-dancing opera, receiving its world premiere at London's Royal Festival Hall. Laura Karpman's 'Balls' revisits the famous showdown between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, turning the cultural spectacle into a pacey and entertaining stage work.
From Tennis Court to Opera Stage
On 20 September 1973, an estimated 90 million television viewers watched the legendary match. The flamboyant former men's champion Bobby Riggs, known for his loud chauvinism, faced the reigning women's world number one, Billie Jean King. The event was pure theatre even then, with King arriving on a litter carried by topless men and Riggs turning up in a rickshaw pulled by female models. The symbolic gift exchange saw Riggs present a giant lollipop, while King handed over a piglet.
Composer Laura Karpman, an Emmy award-winner for film and TV, stated in the programme that "The Battle of the Sexes was always an opera." Her work leans into the inherent absurdity and significance of the event, using near-verbatim TV commentary and vintage advertisements to highlight how alien the sexist attitudes of the era now seem.
A Kitschy, No-Holds-Barred Production
As the triple-meaning title 'Balls' suggests, subtlety is not the aim here. The score is a bold mix of styles, from moments of hope that echo Copland to Philip Glass-style minimalism accompanying archive footage of suffragettes. The climaxes are designed for a Hollywood blockbuster, with short numbers and amplified voices, though this occasionally led to muddiness during large choral sections.
The production was praised for its expert pacing and ability to keep the audience thoroughly entertained, a skill at which Karpman excels. Billie Jean King herself endorsed the show, appearing in a video cameo at the start to assure the audience they were "in for a treat."
Standout Performances and Musical Accompaniment
Leading the cast, tenor Nicky Spence was a comic tour de force as Bobby Riggs, prancing across the stage and squealing through falsetto passages. As Billie Jean King, Nikola Printz delivered a powerful and intense performance, both vocally and dramatically, with their mezzo-soprano voice carefully controlled throughout.
Lotte Betts-Dean provided a soulful, smoky-voiced portrayal of King's secretary and lover. Under the baton of Marin Alsop, the Philharmonia Orchestra shifted effortlessly between filmic lushness and gamely clapping along to spoken word parts.
The opera was preceded by a performance of William Walton's Façade, which showcased the Philharmonia musicians at the peak of their abilities and set a high bar for rhythmic virtuosity, met impressively by the singers.
This new operatic take on a seminal sporting moment proves that the 'Battle of the Sexes' remains a rich source of artistic inspiration, its themes of gender and spectacle resonating just as powerfully today.
