After last year’s Don Giovanni I should have been prepared for the inanities of Daniel Slater’s approach to Mozart’s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail but even I found it difficult to believe one could treat a work with such disdain.  Refusing to trust the music or the characterisation, the evening is full of ‘ideas’ which work against the emotional truth we experience if we simply close our eyes. That the soloists were, for the most part, so good, made it all the more upsetting. Rebecca Nelson has the measure of Konstanze but was required to do such inept things during her long arias that it was surprising she was able to complete them. Ensembles held up well and the brief chorus numbers were bright and effective as long as one was not looking. That the audience generally seemed to find the whole thing hilarious, even the underground torture chamber, I found disturbing. Needless to say, Mozart’s ideas of compassion, generosity and steadfast love had no place in this concoction.

I note that Daniel Slater is to direct Janacek’s The cunning little vixen for Garsington next year. It is a work I love; I will not be there. BH

Rossini’s opera seria have yet to regain a regular place in the operatic canon, with the exception of William Tell. Garsington Opera have done sterling work to redress the balance and the new production of Maometto secondo will certainly add fuel to the fire. There are so many revolutionary ideas within the score that it is difficult to believe it was written in 1820. The first act in particular regularly sounds like Verdi or even early Wagner in the dramatic intensity of the writing and the ability to shape long paragraphs of seamless music. That there was no applause during act one was not a result of poor musicianship – which was thrilling throughout – but a lack of any gaps to enable us to applaud. The doomed Anna is one of long line of nineteenth century heroines who have to choose between love and duty. Her final suicide is tragic not only because of her individual loss but the loss to society which is un-necessarily polarised. Edward Dick’s production faces the racial and religious tensions full on, creating credible characters none of whom are simplistic or two-dimensional. Paul Nilon’s weak, vacillating governor, prone to turn to his hip flask at moments of crisis, is no match for the macho strength of Darren Jeffery’s Maometto. Anna is torn between her earlier infatuation with Maometto, who she had known as Umberto, and her growing relationship with Caitlin Hulcup’s bookish Calbo. The whole situation is doomed from the start and all we can do is watch it unfold.

However, along the way, there is so much glorious music, wonderfully sung, that the length of the opera is never a problem. As noted the first act contains some of Rossini’s finest choral writing, while solos lift effortlessly from the narrative. If the second act is rather more conventional it contains a number of block-buster arias to thrill any audience.

David Parry’s keeps the musical line tightly under control and his players give rich and colourful support throughout. The chorus – the men in particular – cover themselves in praise. I heard rumour that the production might be recorded – I do hope so. BH

Humperdinck’s opera has been given a wide range of treatment in recent years, from the mythic to the highly contemporary. It is a great strength of Olivia Fuchs’ approach that she trusts the narrative itself but is aware of its fairy-tale origins. Niki Turner’s set places the action on a giant story book, with pop up houses, sinister figures and black suited angels, all within a skeletal beech wood. Yet within this setting the characters are convincingly naturalistic. The parents are dysfunctional; there is nothing comic about the father’s drunkenness or the mother’s suicidal tendencies. Only nature can be trusted, the animals in the forest becoming benign and supportive to the lost children.

If this sounds as though the approach was over-serious it was anything but, with a great deal of real humour, though never at the expense of individual characters.

At the heart of the interpretation are Hansel and Gretel themselves. Anna Devin’s Gretel is superb, a convincingly young girl in her gaucheness and naivety, but with a voice to charm and an openness of heart which was captivating. It is she – more than Claudia Huckle’s tom-boyish Hansel – who wins the day. William Dazeley’s Father is dangerously inept. On a good day, having sold his brooms, all is well but one could easily imagine how dysfunctional he would become if even more drunk than he was on this occasion. It was telling that he had not sobered up even when his children have overcome the evil in the forest. A fine characterisation and a good foil to Yvonne Howard’s equally weak and dysfunctional mother. By comparison Susan Bickley’s witch is all sweetness and light; a vision in pink to go with her sweeties. That the children take to her after the rigours of home life is credible; that Gretel is rapidly aware of the danger even more so given her up-bringing. In this case nature is far more important than nurture.

Martin Andre’s orchestra sounded slightly thinner, more muscular than usual in the first half but seemed more robust and romantic in the second. The children’s chorus was delightful and utterly convincing.

On the night we visited, the performance was being relayed live to Scarborough, and we had an introduction by Sir Terry Wogan live from the stage. Unfortunately, after two nights of glorious weather it was raining heavily – but such are the delights of English Summer Opera. BH

Birmingham Symphony Hall, 22 June 2013

Opera North have reached Siegfried in their annual semi-staging of the Ring and it seems to go from strength to strength. All the previous benefits of the approach are still in place, with the triple screen seeming more subtle in its usage and the sur-titles succinct and apt.

However the major addition on this occasion was the presence of Mati Turi as Siegfried. The part is almost impossible for most tenors and there are few in the world who can do justice to it both vocally and histrionically. Matu Turi is one of them. He sang so fully and lustily in act one I expected his voice to give out long before the end. It did not do so. He also brings a boyish charm and innocence to his characterisation that we can more easily understand the violent excesses of youth. It is only a pity he is not due to sing in Gotterdammerung next season.

The rest of the cast were certainly at an international level with Jo Pohlheim a black voiced Alberich and Michael Druiett a smooth talking Wanderer. Fflur Wyn charmed as the woodbird, leading Siegfried from above, while the rich earthiness of Ceri Williams impressed as Erda. Only Annalena Persson’s over-ripe vibrato in the final scene as Brunnhilde caused any concern.

The orchestra were as fine as ever, with the brass able to growl and flair in ways unobtainable in an orchestra pit. The opening of act three, always one of the most exciting moments in any Ring was given its full authority and the excitement was sustained until Brunnhilde awoke.

Richard Farnes has managed to mould his players and singers over this very long time span with aplomb and we can only look forward to next year with eagerness. BH

Friday 14 June, 2013

Deborah Warner’s production of Britten’s Death in Venice was in many ways an obvious choice for the Britten centenary. Not only is it a remarkably fine and moving performance in its own right but the work encapsulates so many of the concerns which troubled Britten throughout his composing career.

The misty, dissolving settings by Tom Pye and the charged atmospheric lighting of Jean Kalman are an essential part of the production, the black screens and voids reminding us constantly of the presence of death even when the distant vista is stunningly luminous.

Within this dark world, John Graham-Hall’s Aschenbach is ever present, his tortured body gradually decaying as the opera unfolds. From the very first moments we know there is no hope for him, but we follow him to his inevitable end. That we do so easily and sympathetically is a tribute not only to the exceptional quality of his characterisation but also to Britten’s writing which never sentimentalises. Andrew Shore brings the stream of baritone vignettes to life without exaggeration, and there is a fine Apollo from Tim Mead.

The young male dancers are superb throughout, with Kim Brandstrup’s choreography flowing effortlessly out of the stage movement. If Sam Zaldivar’s Tadzio seems rather older than the score implies this in no way undermines the emotional turmoil for Aschenbach.

Edward Gardner handles the score with limpid charm, and it was a tribute to the balance of voices and orchestra that the performance was given without sur-titles and without any lack of impact for the text. While welcoming sur-titles in most cases it was a pleasure here to concentrate fully on the stage action rather than the necessary distancing effect which glancing at sur-titles involves.

John Graham Hall has come a long way since Albert Herring, and is surely now one of the finest interpreters of Britten alive today. BH

Birmingham Hippodrome, 12 June 2013

Jonathan Harvey’s death at the end of last year robbed us of a very distinctive voice among modern composers. While Wagner Dream was never intended as a valedictory piece, it encapsulates so much of the composer’s technical exploration as well as his remarkable ability to engage the listener on a first hearing that it is certainly a fitting tribute to his memory. It is only a pity that the WNO production has received so few performances given its potential appeal and intellectual strength.

The work centres on the death of Wagner in Venice, obsessed by the thought of his unfinished project of thirty years based on the story of Pakati and Ananda, his Buddhist Opera. The structure which Harvey creates is remarkable in itself. The Wagner family in Venice are played by actors who only speak. The characters in the Pakati opera only sing. Wagner himself and Vairochana are the only ones who are able to move between the two worlds. Where singspiel has never really worked in the theatre, and compositions like Fidelio or Die Zauberflote always cause problems in production, Harvey’s solution is unique and remarkably effective. The orchestra is frequently playing beneath the actors’ lines, moving in dramatic intensity without ever swamping them. It is one of the great strengths of the work that everything is remarkably clear, both in texture and musical line. Added to this is Harvey’s use of electronic and recorded sound which allows him to move sound around the building and to bring complete control to the impact upon the audience. There is a wonderful moment early on in the evening when Wagner is speaking and we can hear a singer and piano, somewhere, ghostly, in the background. Similarly the choral music often floats around and behind us. Where Wagner in Parsifal could only place singers off-stage or above the stage, Harvey can place sound anywhere in the auditorium and allow it to move at will. The effect, towards the end of the evening is both beautiful and spiritually uplifting. Where musical theatre has a poor reputation for over-amplification, this was a text book example of how subtle electronic support can be and how effective in production.

The score itself never seeks to beat the audience into submission, as so many modern scores, creating many moments of real beauty and intimacy. The scenes between Pakati and Ananda (Claire Booth and Robin Tritschler) are moving in their gentleness and sensitivity towards each other. However, when he needs to impress, Harvey is able to summon real power and nobility from his small on-stage orchestra. Much of the success lies at the feet of Nicholas Collon whose conducting goes from strength to strength, bringing out nuances in the score which could easily be missed on a first hearing.

There was, of course, no real prospect of Wagner ever finishing his Buddhist Opera, but what we have here is an understanding of the way the composer’s philosophy was moving towards the end of his life, and a fascinating insight into alternative views of Parsifal. Seen in the light of Pakati, Kundry becomes much clearer in her evolving relationship with Parsifal, and the mixing of Buddhist and Christian mythology makes more sense. If only for this, we should be grateful that Jonathan Harvey’s opera helps us emotionally and spiritually to enter into that complex world of religious myth at a time when psychology is just beginning to establish itself.

The work has already been recorded on CD. It would be good to think that it might also be captured on DVD. It certainly deserves a much wider audience. BH