Speaking at the Press Briefing before the first night of Rossini’s Moses in Egypt David Pountney gave us an overview of the 2015-16 season and some hints of the future. One of the realities of belt-tightening is a new approach to staging which is already with us. He referred to the same scenic environment being used for a set of productions to save on the costs necessarily involved in employing not only separate designers but constructing entirely different sets for individual new productions. Thus next season’s Figaro here, Figaro there will use the same basic set designed by the veteran Ralph Koltai for all three operas.

We have some experience of how this will work already this year. The same vast screens and rostra (and the every present table!) which were in place for William Tell are here again for Moses in Egypt but, I have to say, to far finer effect. Where the icebergs had been inappropriate for the lushness of Switzerland, the vast rough coloured panels seemed highly apt as an abstract backing for the Egyptian tale. For most of the evening the Israelites keep to the blue side and the Egyptians to the red. The simplicity is highly effective and never upstages the action which is focussed on the ramifications of an inter-racial love affair rather than on the Biblical narrative.

The opening is totally unexpected. In most theatres the stage direction darkness is anything but. Light is used to suggest darkness. Here we were in the dark – literally. Only the emergency lights gave any hint of where we were. Carlo Rizzi conducted the darkened orchestra pit with a miniature light sabre which buzzed in front of us like a demented firefly. The chorus and soloists sang to us out of the void on stage and surtitles were kept to a minimum to enhance the effect. When Moses brought back the light it was truly moving. If nothing else this shows David Pountney still has the ability to surprise us.

The casting is very strong. Miklos Sebestyen and Barry Banks make a virile pair as Moses and Aaron commanding the stage whenever present. On the Egyptian side only Nicky Spence’s superb Mambre has their authority – what a pity he does not have a solo aria. Andrew Foster-Williams is a vacillating Pharaoh buffeted by the whims of those around him and rightly cowed by the presence of his wife Amaltea sung by Christine Rice. Her temple aria was a high-spot of the evening, the movement of the candles reflecting her emotional torment. The love interest was convincingly caught by Claire Booth and David Alegret but Rossini’s characterisation does not really help either of them.

The chorus were again in superb form and the moveable panels reflected their power even more effectively than in William Tell.

Carlo Rizzi relishes this music and his passion is reflected across the whole evening in the quality of orchestral playing and the constant engagement with the narrative. He returns next season to conduct a new production of I Puritani. 

Richard Jones’ new production of Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West has many of the hallmarks of his style. The settings are bright, colourful and modern, the strip lights cheerfully at odds with the late nineteenth century costumes. The action is naturalistic, the crowd movement fluid and convincing, the voices placed forward and reflected from the heavy sets. This all places the emotional impact of the work firmly in the hands of the soloists, who are given the weight and authority of the old frontier rather than of svelte opera singers.

Susan Bullock and Peter Auty are presented as middle-aged lovers. This may be her first kiss but there is no pretence that she is a young woman. Susan Bullock’s Minnie is a genuine mother-figure, and she convinces us that she has the emotional strength to overcome all of the potential barbarities of the Wild West. The voice is large and often thrilling even if it became a little squally at the top under the pressures of the first night. Peter Auty makes an heroic Dick Johnson, his big numbers ringing out with ease and splendid musicality. If these two are credible human beings, Craig Colclough’s Jack Rance is closer to stereotypical western Sheriff, with broad gestures and large cigars.

Of the large number of smaller parts Graham Clark’s assured Nick was outstanding, but there were no weaknesses on stage – a tribute to the quality of ENO’s ensemble.

In the pit Keri-Lynn Wilson made the most of the romantic, often sentimental, orchestration and lulled us into believing what we were experiencing on stage.

Another fine night at the Coliseum – and what a splendid idea to start the work by fully lighting the proscenium so that we could enjoy the magnificence of the theatre itself just for once.