Ripley is a 19th century vampire that is woken from suspended animation in London in the 1990s. He proceeds to do what vampires are best at, work in the stock market! The singing in this film is generally good. Omar Ebrahim is excellent as Ripley as are Phillip Salmon and Richard Van Allen. The production is very stylish and has many contemporary elements in what is essentially an old tale. It has a few truly sublime moments where modern life and an operatic form are brought together in a most convincing way. The little scene in the carwash is a good example if this. The words here are marvelous. A girl is seen coming to work and as she arrives the owner sings: "Morning susie, be a brick. Cup of tea would do the trick". Susie then reads the news from the morning paper. It's all very natural and fits in with the music very well.
Review of The Vampyr: A Soap Opera
The Vampyr: A Soap Opera
(1992 TV Movie)
A modern operatic treatment of an old tale
28 December 1998