London Coliseum, 25 May 2016

This is the sixth revival of Anthony Minghella’s production of Madame Butterfly at the London Coliseum and musically it was very sound. Sir Richard Armstrong takes a robust approach to the score which drives it fast and encourages a wide range of orchestral colour. If it tended at times to almost drown out the soloists, particularly early on, this was a minor complication in the face of fine playing.

On stage there was much to commend the soloists. David Butt Philip as Pinkerton has a gauche charm and the naivety of a very young man out of his depths. He threw off Dovunque al mondo with panache and its moral laxity was well picked up by George von Bergen’s world-weary Sharpless. If anything, it was Sharpless who was the most convincing character on stage and the dramatic intensity dropped when he was not present.

Rena Harms has the voice for Cio-Cio-San and almost convinces us she is only fifteen. The love duet flowered strongly though frequently placing the soloists well up-stage did not help.

As noted above this was the sixth revival of this production though, strangely, it was the first time I had seen it.  I realise now why I had been avoiding it. As a friend noted this was opera for people who don’t like opera. There is no attempt to develop characterisation or intimacy. The start of the love duet is fine – the image closely controlled so that we focus on the characters. Then suddenly they are in a vast black void surrounded by floating paper lanterns and a constant rain of cherry blossom. Think Disney restaging Chu Chin Chow. They hardly sing to each other and there is no dramatic tension, still less any erotic frisson which is what Puccini intended. I accept I am in a minority because those around me were obviously thoroughly enjoying it, but it is surely dangerous to encourage audiences to think of a work like this, which can be emotionally devastating, as simply a pretty entertainment.

Wales Millenium Centre, Friday 13 May 2016

There was nothing unlucky about this Friday-the-thirteenth. WNO was celebrating its Seventieth Birthday with the premiere of Iain Bell’s In Parenthesis. The text by David Antrobus and Emma Jenkins is drawn from the epic poem by David Jones, himself a survivor of the attack on Mametz Wood a hundred years ago. However, this is no piece of historical re-enactment for the poem draws on Welsh Saga literature to frame the narrative and to find for us, perplexed witnesses of the events, a way to make sense and even find reconciliation.

Few new operas these days have such a profoundly moving starting point and the text itself is masterly in its avoidance of operatic pitfalls. As such the movement from ethereal chorus to men on the march is made effortlessly and the characterisation is succinct but frequently profound. The strong cast draws on a number of very familiar faces, amongst whom Graham Clark’s Baldric-like Marne Sergeant and Donald Maxwell’s splendid Dai Greatcoat are outstanding, though the balance of individuality against the overriding importance of the idea of the group is never lost. For this, Iain Bell’s score is heavily responsible. He is not afraid of writing substantial choruses for both the Dryads and the regiment – choruses which are forceful and tuneful at the same time without ever seeming derivative. The new tunes he creates for familiar songs, the warmly moving setting of Sosban fach and the final overwhelming effect of the Salve Regina for women’s voices, point to a deep understanding of how opera functions and can do so without needing to break any musical rules along the way.

If the choral writing is splendid, so also are the lyrical lines for the solo parts. Andrew Bidlack has the high tessitura for Private Ball and his many brief solos have the lyricism and beauty the poem expects. The character is poised somewhere between Peter Grimes and Albert Herring – brash and clumsy at first but later having the spiritual insight of Grimes even when surrounded by danger and chaos. The pub scene which opens the second half is reminiscent of the scene after the storm in Britten’s opera, and has the same balance of warm humanity and a cosmic essence which takes us literally into a different world.

The final scene is the most moving. All but Ball are dead but where most operas would end with a dirge for the dead, here we meet transformation. The dark, often bleak, skies are hidden behind a lush spring tree in full bud. The Queen of the Wood, the versatile Alexandra Deshorties, brings fertility back to the earth and regeneration where there was despair. It is a hope beyond hope and one which is both moving and convincing.

David Poutney returns to good form in mounting this production and draws exemplary performances from his cast. It is superbly lit by Malcolm Rippeth in an un-fussy set from Robert Innes Hopkins.

It was equally pleasing to welcome back Carlo Rizzi into the pit and to note he will also be conducting Cav & Pag as part of the summer season. His sensitivity and rapport with his singers is unfailing, and he showed absolute respect for them and the work itself.

There are more performances in Cardiff until 3 June when the production moves to Birmingham and then for two performances at the Royal Opera House. Do catch it if you can. Let us hope it will return again in the not too distant future – a work of this quality should not be lost.

Barbican Hall, Wednesday 11 May 2016

It is not so much the opportunity to rediscover a forgotten masterpiece as the indication of just where later genius evolved from that makes Opera Rara events so special. Adelson e Salvini was Bellini’s first opera, written when he was 24, and if it does not have the heroic romanticism of later works it certainly has a lyrical flair across many extended passages and a comic creation which he never again exceeded.

Enea Scala made a finely tormented Salvini, who is able to literally hit all the high notes while convincing us of his emotional turmoil. If Daniela Barcellona’s Nelly did not seem to have quite the same level of intensity her voice was an elegant foil to those around her. Rodion Pogossov was a dastardly Struley, with just enough wit to keep from over-exageration, but it was the splendid comic timing of Maurizio Muraro as Bonifacio which really galvanised the evening. Here Bellini leans heavily on Rossini, but without any sense of plagiarism. It is simply he has learnt from the master how to spin a comic line. It is a pity that, unlike Donizetti, he did not develop this in later years as he seemed to have a real flair for comedy.

Daniele Rustioni conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra with flair and the men of the chorus from Opera Rara added enthusiasm to the celebratory scenes.

Though this was a concert performance, Kenneth Richardson directed the movement with grace and the lighting helped the atmosphere. As usual though the light in the auditorium was so low it was impossible to read the programme or take notes.

The next offering from Opera Rara is Rossini’s Semiramide during the Proms this summer.