Hampstead Garden Opera's production is directed by Joe Austin (who recently assisted David Alden in the revival of Peter Grimes at ENO), and we seem to be promised a version of La Calisto which takes the heroine into our bewildering modern world. The opera will be conducted by Oliver-John Ruthven with accompaniment from the period instrument ensemble Musica Poetica London with an impressive cast of young singers, as the performances are double cast.
It will be interesting to see what Austin makes of the opera's distinctive mix of comedy and tragedy as 17th century Venetian audiences were hardly PC and I note that the role of Linfea will be sung by a woman. Linfea is one of those roles in 17th century Venetian opera, normally sung by a men, which make fun of older women and much of the comedy comes from the cross dressing. (Harry Nicoll was brilliant in a similar role, Eryka, in the recent production of Cavalli's L'Ormindo at the Globe). Similarly, in the original 17th century performances the same singer sang Jove and Jove in Diana, singing the former in the bass register and the latter in the soprano register. I am not sure that it has been done like that in modern times. At Covent Garden most recently, the role was acted by the bass (in drag) whilst sung by a woman. Again I note that Austin is using a woman in the role. [Update: we are promised lots of cross dressing, and the director says that the production won't be tame!]
Janet Baker and Ileana Cotrubas appeared in the famous 1970's performances of La Calisto at Glyndebourne, conducted by Raymond Leppard (see an excerpt on YouTube). It was these performances which helped to put Cavalli back on the operatic map. Skip forward a few years and David Freeman's Opera Factory came up with a far more stripped back and irreverent production at the Royal Court Theatre including Mercury on roller skates (and I can testify it worked very well). David Alden at the Royal Opera House in 2008 produced something a good deal more large scale, stylish and glitzier. So it will be interesting to see what Austin and Hamstead Garden Opera make of Cavalli's beguiling and bewildering piece on a far smaller budget.
Elsewhere on this blog:
- WIN: Rosalind Plowright's new CD La belle Dame sans Merci
- Not forgettable: Gorecki's Fourth Symphony
- Benjamin Grosvenor and the Escher String Quartet
- Sparking late comedy: Donizetti's Rita
- Stabat Mater: Music for Passiontide from Clare Colege Choir - Cd review
- Magnificent extravagance: Gergiev, Trifonov and the LSO
- Troppo cruda: Handel duets from Oxford Baroque
- Ampere: Dai Fujikura's latest CD
- Thrilling expose: Thomas Ades Powder her Face
- Intriguing brilliance: Daniel Purcell's Judgement of Paris - CD review
- A Purcell Collection: Voces8 and Les Inventions
- Bartok: Duke Bluebeard's Castle Philharmonia Orchestra live - CD review
- Pure Magic: L'Ormindo at the Globe
- A Soldier's Tale at Barnes Music Festival
- Rhinegold Live: Julian & Jiaxin Lloyd Webber
- Style and imagination: Antonio Poli at Rosenblatt Recitals
- Pure Handel: European Union Baroque Orchestra CD review
- Home
No comments:
Post a Comment