Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, 17 November 2019

A Sunday matinee of La Belle Helene should be a delightful and engaging way of spending the afternoon. That it was not entirely so was as much a problem with the work itself as with Jeff Clarke’s updating. The recent revival of Orpheus in the Underworld for ENO suffered the same problems – and these have not been true of revivals of G&S, many of which are finding new and younger audiences who revel in Gilbert’s gentle undermining of English pomposity.

Offenbach horrified his original audience by sending up the Greek myth and thus upsetting the intellectuals who placed so much store on antique values. Offenbach shows the heroes of the Trojan War for a shifty lot with dubious morals and a great deal of narcissism. This comes over well in Jeff Clarke’s version but does not quite hang together with the umbrella setting of rival tour parties and a vaguely ancient archaeological site. Some updated references hit the mark but the inclusion of trans-gender jokes and a song about Viagra seemed ill-placed.

We are never quite sure where we are, or in what period. All we can do is go along with the singing as it progresses. Luckily much of this is excellent with Hannah Pedley a strongly focussed Helen, a fine foil for Anthony Flaum’s slippery Paris. Paul Featherstone and Charles Johnson are little more than caricatures as the two kings, though Robert Gildon bluffs his way through resourcefully as Calchas. Given the contemporary references elsewhere, there was considerable scope here for anti-clerical jokes but they were not in evidence. Of the small roles Jennifer Clarke was outstanding as Bacchis. The chorus sang well but often seemed ill at ease in the larger spaces available to them. The small orchestral forces were well balanced though the size of the Congress made the strings sound rather thin. Toby Purser kept his forces together well both in the pit and on stage.

This was a joint production between New Sussex Opera and Opera della Luna, both of whom are well established and have done much excellent work in the past. NSO return next spring with a new production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea.

Christ Church, St Leonards, Saturday 2 November 2019

An evening of choral works opened with Finzi’s beautiful Romance for Strings. Almost unknown in comparison to similar works by Elgar or Vaughan Williams, it is a masterpiece of quiet tact and understated joy. We could almost have done with hearing it twice to impress upon us just how lovely it is.

However we were then straight in to Britten Saint Nicolas, with Jonathan Cooke the eponymous saint. His heroic and forceful tones, so different from Peter Pears for whom it was written, gave the whole a cutting edge and urgency which was impressive and seemed to galvanise all the other singers. The men’s chorus were particularly strong in the journey to Palestine with the higher ladies voices adding the waves and the angels. The work may have been written with amateurs in mind but there is nothing simplistic about the writing which is highly demanding throughout. None more so than the parts for younger voices, and here they were very young voices! Antonio Ulucan da Silva sang Nicolas as a boy with authority and passion. He was joined by his younger sister Lara, and Lucy and Matthew Rayner to make up the pickled boys’ chorus. Once again the clarity and purity of sound was exactly what Britten requires.

The percussion came into their own in the final sections, with some bombastic tam-tam playing to bring the whole to a glorious conclusion. Britten includes two hymns for congregational use. In Noye this is normally taken up enthusiastically. On this occasion the audience may have loved the performance but seemed less than willing to sing when asked to do so.

After the interval we heard Mozart’s 1780 Vesperae Solennes de Confessore K339. The short movements do not dwell on the text and the final Magnificat – so often lovingly enhanced by other composers – is here over almost before it starts. Before that comes the only popular section, the Laudate Dominum for which soprano Sophie Levi provided radiant tone.

On a very blustery night it was encouraging to see a large audience in Christ Church and we can hope this will continue for the next event on 1 December in St Clements, which brings works by Bach, Telemann, Schutz and Buxtehude.

Photos: Peter Mould

St Mary in the Castle, 26^th October 2019

It worked very well indeed!  To set Rossini’s comic opera in a toy museum at night, where the toys become the characters, gave the Stage and Costume designer a free hand; I did like the parts the rag dolls played with the juxtaposition of a rocking horse and an oil drum on stage. The idea also gave Director, Jenny Miller, an opportunity to encourage children, who fitted in very well. And the expansion of the role given to Fiorella /intruder/ Everyman was mimed  brilliantly by Matthew Mahoney.  It all worked, and while the feathers of  some purists may have been ruffled, it was hugely enjoyable.

The setting and atmosphere of St Mary in the Castle helped with the idea of the production. Singers and players entered from the audience or the side; scene shifts were seen and a general informality with what might be termed ‘proper theatre procedure’ fitted well with this delightful enjoyable comedy opera.

But of course it is the character of Figaro who steals the show.  Oscar Catellino did just that. He played the part with relish and talent.   However, the other soloists were not overshadowed. Jack Roberts excelled as Count Almaviva and was as good as a tenor can get.  Mezzo Soprano Rozanna Madylus not only sang Rosina faultlessly but managed, at the appropriate times, to look equally beautiful and ridiculous.   Jon Openshaw and Andrew Sparling were both very convincing as singers and actors. All soloist were excellent and played their parts with obvious enjoyment.  Well done!  A splendid evening of opera with talent, imagination, innovation and energy.

Apparently at the premiere of this opera in 1816 there were several on-stage accidents. And because of this, I am still wondering if the dry ice which set off a cacophony of fire alarms at the beginning of the production was deliberate. But if not, Rossini would have cheerfully sympathised.

Revd Bernard Crosby

Hastings Contemporary – until 5 January 2020

Hastings Contemporary is still better known to most people in Hastings as formerly the Jerwood Gallery. Hopefully this exceptional new exhibition will change that, for this is the finest use of the spacious building I have encountered since it opened.

The large, ground-floor room serves as an immersive introduction to an artist who has not had a full retrospective since his untimely death in 1988 from multiple-sclerosis. Towards the end of his life he was only able to paint holding the brush in his mouth and nudging it with his left hand. His colours had to be mixed by an assistant. Yet the impact of these late works, particularly the highly poignant portraits, is stunning.

We were privileged at the press showing to be introduced to Victor Willing’s work by his son, film-director Nick Willings who gave us an insight into his father’s approach to painting and the many very real social as well as medical problems he had to overcome. Taught originally at the Slade School, he needed to break away from the straight-jacket of formal painting being taught just after the war, but his style was not accepted, and dismissed as rubbish by conservative critics. He continued indomitably with his desire to paint what he saw in a series of visions, rather than the insistence on representing ‘reality’. It is these visions which form the heart of the exhibition.

The hang at Hastings Contemporary brings together the largest collection of his works ever mounted, with pictures loaned from a wide range of international sources. The vast canvases in the downstairs rooms give way to ones of more modest size but equal interest until one comes to the final portraits, including the deeply moving Self-Portrait at Seventy, as the artist considers what he might become if he had lived to seventy. There are also a collection of nude paintings most of which feature his wife in highly abstract settings, yet full of warmth and intimacy.

If you have possibly hesitated in visiting Hastings Contemporary I can only encourage you to go. The paintings are worth pausing over and the building is now seen at its best.

Battle Choral Society & Orchestra

St Mary’s Battle, Saturday 19 October 2019

Bach’s St Matthew Passion is an Everest among sacred oratorios. It requires two orchestras, three choirs, six soloists, an exemplary continuo group and an enormous amount of stamina. That Battle Choral Society produced many effective moments is without doubt but in the long run the work got the better of them.

There were a number of key elements which held things together. Gary Marriott’s Evangelist was clear, gently emotional and committed throughout, his voice carrying with ease within the church. Solo tenor William Searle was equally on top of the score and produced moving and very beautiful musical lines. Michael White made a positive, and very human, impact as Jesus. The continuo work was outstanding throughout, with particular praise for Nigel Howard at the organ. There were times when the continuo alone seemed to carry items where other instrumentalists had given up. Individual instruments made a positive impression with particular praise for the solo oboe and solo cello. The ripieno choir from Battle Abbey School created a fine sound when we could hear them but could have done with double the numbers to carry over the combined forces.

The choir were at their best in the chorales, many of which were well balanced and focussed, but struggled to project some of Bach’s more complex choruses. Pitch was often insecure, particularly among the tenors. The other soloists, in good voice when secure, seemed to be unfamiliar with the whole score and there were many times when solo items fell apart and the conductor could not rescue them. This seemed to be more than a simple lack of rehearsal time.

Many moments to enjoy, then, and the final chorus brought all elements together in an impressive way, but many more that need careful thought when planning the next event.

Stephen Page at St John the Evangelist, Hollington

Saturday 19 October 2019

Stephen Page mixed a range of very familiar pieces with a few unexpected items in his Hastings Week concert. He opened with Arthur Wills’ Procession with all its flare and excitement but moved smoothly on to John Ireland’s beautiful miniature Minuet from the Downland Suite. It is always good to hear pieces from the Robertsbridge Codex, and the Estampie manages to delight and challenge in equal measure.

Pairing Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre with Sweelinck’s Mein junges Leben hat ein End was unusual and effective before the more obvious linkage of three works for Musical Clock, which allowed us to hear some of the clear upper voices of the instrument.

Two more liturgical pieces followed, Bach’s Jesus, meine Zuversicht and Tom McLelland-Young’s reflective O Lux beata Trinitas.

As is his regular custom, Stephen concluded with two popular pieces, Frederick Curzon’s The Boulevardier and Coates’ Knightsbridge March. The encore was, inevitably, Blaze Away!!