Monday 12 November 2018

REVIEW: English Touring Opera Triple Bill - The Opera House, Buxton.



English Touring Opera brought not one, but three musical pieces from the multi-faceted 17th century to Buxton Opera House last night. The star piece was Purcell’s famed one-act opera “Dido And Aeneas”. In support were Carissimi’s oratorio “Jonas”, and a selection of madrigals, motets and other short works from Gesualdo under the title “I Will Not Speak”. Three different theatre directors; eight exquisite singers; and the deft conducting of Jonathan Peter Kenny for all three acts.

The jewel of the evening was “Dido & Aeneas”, and not just because of the music. Designer Adam Wiltshire and lighting designer Rory Beaton ought to have taken a bow at the end along with the performers. Their contribution was so cleverly integral to the production, and yet so beautiful in its own right. Supporting director Seb Harcombe’s vision of telling the story entirely from Dido’s point of view, the set was the interior of an Elizabethan mansion, skewed crazily at a downward angle to the corner where Dido’s chair was.

Picking up on the moon/ sun – Artemis/ Apollo imagery within the libretto, Dido (delicately sung by Sky Ingram in a performance incorporating everything from girlish flippancy to a queen’s dignity) was identified with the moon, in a deep blue gown and stars in her hair, and much of the opera was performed at night, with dark shadows and a large luminous full moon in the sky. Aeneas (warmly sung by Nicholas Mogg) was identified with the sun, initially through strong shafts of sunlight shining through gloomy windows, then in person in golden-toned clothing, and further added to by his exchange with the messenger Spirit from the gods (the very pure voice of Benjamin Williamson) wearing a sun-shaped headdress. Sunlight, in the end, could not overcome darkness, but even Dido’s well-known unhappy ending had a little twist to it. It was very lovely.

Frederick Long’s dark-toned voice led a coven of gleefully malevolent witches, and he physically writhed his way around the stage as he plotted his revenge on the lovers. Susanna Fairbairn gave a sympathetic performance as the handmaiden Belinda. The ensemble of sailors greatly relished explaining to us why their “nymphs” were begging them to stay on shore – with accompanying physical gestures.

In the first half were presented the other two pieces. “Jonas” was given a quiet, thoughtful presentation on a stripped-back stage, in modern dark-coloured clothing that was still vaguely reminiscent of an olden-days fishing village. The eight singers took turns to sing in narration the familiar Biblical story, with Jorge Navarro-Colorado beautifully performing Jonas in calmness and soft detail. Bernadette Iglich’s direction was very interesting: the performers continuously slowly moved and transitioned into various states of physical tension, always individualised, and completely integral to the music.

“I Will Not Speak” was a bit more jumbled, and though the singing was beautiful, overall I was not sure what director James Conway was getting at. A plain black set was cut up with shelves of amber-coloured candles and two dark mirrors. At times the black-clad singers were only illuminated by tiny orange flames cupped in their own hands. As the singers interjected the songs with speeches about Gesualdo’s life, and spoken performances of poems by other poets of the period, we learnt that Gesualdo was a cruel prince who murdered his first wife, was vile to his second wife and his children, and wrote religious music to soothe his personal demons. Yet the singers remained carefully ambivalent about their material throughout, even when performing the prose parts, and that dispassion did seem strange.

Reviewer - Thalia Terpsichore
on - 10/11/18

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