Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous...!
Musick by Mr Handel, libretto after Mr Congreve. I don't hink I've ever seen any plays by Congreve, but I thought I had. I had a brief 'thing' about Restoration Drama a dozen or more years ago, but got distracted, possibly by Accountancy studies. Sigh
Oh, and Congreve took it from Ovid's Metamorphoses, which are a hoot, especially in the original (trust me on this one...)
I am struggling to work out what was the best bit of a thoroughly enjoyable night. The music? The libretto/drama? The production? The set and costumes? The wonderful acting from the entire cast? The singing?
It was all good. Four more performances remain.
The music's Handel. The great thing about Handel, I reckon, is that if you like one piece of Handel, you're likely to like the rest. Not that they all sound alike, but Handel's Handel. A businessman.
The libretto is satirical, about the mistress of the King. In this case the King happens to be Jupiter, but as the programme notes pointed out, Kings have always had mistresses. It would have been tempting to draw ultra-modern parallels, but it was set in the 1950s. Incidentally, Juno - Jupiter's wife, goddess of marriage - was done up to look exactly like QE2. The synopsis seems complicated, but isn't - Semele, a mortal, walks out on her earthly marriage to be Jupiter's mistress. She begs him to appear to her as a god, rather than in mortal disguise, and that proves her destruction - the moral, of course being, be satisfied at being the mistress, don't aspire to being the wife (don't get ideas above your station...).
I think all the singers acted it well - special mention should go to Patricia Bardon as Juno/the Queen, and a very special mention to Janis Kelly as Iris. I had no complaints about the rest, either.
It is sometimes described as an oratorio, or a staged oratorio, but to me, a staged oratorio is an opera. It just seemed to work really coherently - no 'egh, what's that supposed to signify?' Some great little touches of sheer comedy. The sets were simple but effective - the weeding scene just chairs arranged either side of a red carpet. Much of the action taking place in Semele and Jupiter's bedroom, with just a bed, and lots of clothes strewn around. The choreographing of the chorus was excellent, and, again, it just seemed to work. The second act ended as darkness fell around the heavenly bedroom and it was really rather nice seeing the stars twinkling against a black background.
The clothes were really lovely - fifties style, the ladies mainly in satin, the men mainly in dinner suits, except for Jupiter, who was mainly in a cream lounge suit and brogues. I would think the costumes outstanding if I hadn't seen La Rondine last week.
And the singing! Perhaps the overall most satisfying singing I have heard at ENO all year. Not a weak link, at all. The minor parts did what they had to do at least competently, if not better. Personal dislike for me is the counter-tenor voice. I just don't like it. But I am sure that fans of counter tenors would have found Robin Blaze delightful. I wasn't frightfully keen on Anne-Marie Gibbons as Ino. Patricia Bardon sounded luscious as Juno, a rich contralto (or mezzo, I'm not quite sure). Ian Bostridge was a bit of a let down. He acted well, and clearly had a large fan club present. But at times, I thought his voice lacked colour, and was a bit generic.
But the total star was Carolyn Sampson. She was the reason I booked to see this, and she exceeded my expectations. To me, she has a a completely gorgeous voice. I have heard her sing Monteverdi, Beethoven, and Mozart in concert, and Handel on disc, but this was the first time I have seen her in an opera. As well as having a beautiful voice, she acts really well, and looks just great. The most memorable arias are Endless Pleasure, Endless Love at the end of Act 1 - very slinkily sexy without vamping it up; O Sleep Why Dost Thou Leave Me? in Act 2 and Myself I Shall Adore in Act 3. But lots of more good stuff. I'm so tempted to rush out and buy a CD, but I so hope that maybe Chandos could do a recording starring Carolyn. I think I'm a bit of a fan!
There was a pause - not an interval - between Acts 1 and 2, and a rathe rhigh numbe rof latecomers were admitted, resulting in much shuffling, and a general hum of conversation. The orchestra began and the woman next-but-one said, audibly, "There doesn't seem to be any spare seats" so, irritated, I did a loud sharp shush and the netire centre of the Upper Circle shushed instantly. Go me!
At the interval, I went down to the main doors, glass in hand, and I was told 'no glasses outside'. I grumbled 'It's a different rule every week, it makes life so exciting' and smiled at the door staff. One of them pointed out they had some plastic glasses, so I grinned happily and said "You are truly wonderful people!" When I had finished my cigarette she waved me in without checking my ticket!
Semele: Carolyn Sampson
Jupiter: Ian Bostridge
Ino: Anne-Marie Gibbons
Juno: Patricia Bardon
Athamas: Robin Blaze
Somnus: Graeme Danby
Cadmus: Iain Paterson
Iris: Janis Kelly
Conductor: Laurence Cummings
