By Tommy
Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/products/ariodante-in-concert £10
Available until:
Sunday 20th December 2020
How wonderful to see a full live opera at the Royal Opera
House once more! Of course, it was not possible to see this opera in person and
might not have been as fully satisfying experience for them as it was for their
online audience, but I really hope they were able to find some enjoyment in
their excellent performances of this beautiful opera and to know that it was
very much appreciated by those of us who are missing opera.
The Royal Opera have been very generous in offering us access to video recordings of their previous work, also mounting productions of a number of short operas and ballets, but this was the first live opera of any considerable length. Ariodante is an excellent choice due to its small cast and orchestra, and although the opera does traditionally end with a chorus, it works very well for the characters whose stories we have followed throughout the opera to perform that chorus. It is also an intelligent choice as it is an opportunity to see an opera which is not staged very often.
It would, in any case, be incorrect to term this a concert
performance. Although there were no props or staging, the characters made
entrances and exits and moved around the stage (always, of course, keeping a
safe distance from others) and while staging can be extremely beautiful and add
a great deal to a performance, the most important thing of all is that the
singers tell the story – and that is exactly what these singers did. The social
distancing did not seem inappropriate, even in duet about characters joining
hands. It was easy to imagine the gesture as being as metaphorical as the
joining of hearts.
The cast was very strong and full of familiar names. Paula
Murrihy leads the cast well as Ariodante, her singing powerful and the
characterisation charming. If he is initially slightly smug about his forthcoming
marriage to Ginevra, it is actually rather endearing and shows his humanity. The
role is also sung with great beauty and a great deal of emotion.
Chen Reiss has managed to find a dress for Ginevra which
perfectly suits the libretto and brings the production even more to life,
emphasising its case for being a staged production. Ms Reiss also sings the
role beautifully and shows Ginevra’s warmth and personality, as well as her
heart-wrenching sadness.
Sophie Bevan’s sincere (and absolutely beautifully-sung)
performance as Dalinda makes the character’s rather surprising naïveté a lot more
believable and there’s an excellent Polinesso from Iestyn Davies. The
character, as we learn early on, is very much the cause of most of the
problems, yet he does seem genuinely in love and while it does not excuse his
actions, it makes him more interesting as a villain.
Gerald Finley is powerful as the unnamed King of Scotland in
a very clever and finely-nuanced performance. It is easy to sympathise even
when he is torn between being a father and being a King. His rich
bass-baritone, now often employed in Wagner operas, retains the smoothness and
flexibility to negotiate Handel’s music. Handel is perhaps not always kind to
tenors in his operas (though Grimoaldo in Rodelinda is a fascinating
character and Alcina’s Oronte has some lovely arias), but Ed Lyon’s
strong performance ensures that Lurcanio doesn’t metaphorically ‘come out of
nowhere’ at the end and Thando Mijandana makes much dramatically of Odoardo’s
brief but key appearances.
A very enjoyable and very welcome live performance.
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