In the ‘Good Old Days’ at ENO, the angular figure of
Peter Jonas was a regular sight at ‘front of curtain’ time, usually
making pleas for money in various guises: nowadays, a similarly gaunt
figure in the person of Paul Daniel appears before us, sometimes to
tell us where the loos are, sometimes to make a graceful connection,
as he did last night, between the ‘unbuttoned elegance’ of the statue
of Handel which graces the stage for this production, and the rather
rumpled state in which the Coliseum is to be found at present. This
is all rather cosy, reminding us that we, too, have a part in what’s
going on at this house, and making us feel that we are quite noble to
be supporting the company by our very presence. It can also sound like
an apology, but none was needed for what must surely be one of the most
characteristic of all ENO productions.
It is always hard for a new cast to live up to a superlative
original, and the first singers in this ‘Xerxes’ would be an impossible
group to equal, given that they included Ann Murray, Christopher Robson,
Jean Rigby and Lesley Garrett (yes, she really was a first class Atalanta)
but last night’s young cast gave a performance which may have lacked
a little in subtle dramatic touches but compensated for this with some
genuinely lovely singing. Sarah Connolly is very familiar to ENO audiences,
and whilst she lacks Ann Murray’s feisty stage presence and opulence
of timbre, she created a highly individual, noble King, full of overweening
pride and impulsive vulnerability. Her singing was beautiful throughout,
beginning with a very gentle ‘Under Thy Shade’ and including some exquisite
phrasing in ‘When I See Her’ as well as confidently articulated florid
passages in ‘Rise, Ye Furies.’
Robin Blaze has a most cultivated and elegant voice
as well as a handsome stage presence, but he is at present a little
diffident in the role of Arsamenes; though his singing is lovely, especially
in the slower pieces, he seems to need a little more forcefulness in
his phrasing and enunciation as well as his characterization. He is
clearly someone who will grow into his part, and the same is true of
Mary Nelson, whose assumption of Atalanta is lively and credible but
as yet in need of sharper focus: she has a very neat, bright soprano,
looks delectable in her costumes and will surely shine once she is well
into her stride.
Anna Burford had the especially difficult task of following
in Jean Rigby’s footsteps; I doubt if anyone who attended the first
performances of this production will ever forget the cello-like beauty
of Rigby’s tone in ‘I am the cause of mine own ruin’ or indeed the moving
quality of her recitatives. However, Ms Burford is a vivid actress,
and she made Amastris entirely credible as well as singing with poise
and forthright projection – hers is clearly a name to watch.
The comic bass parts were genially taken by Mark Richardson
and Iain Paterson, both singing with gusto and projecting their characters
convincingly. The only real disappointment of the evening was Rebecca
Evans, who seems to garner rave reviews wherever she goes, but whose
singing of Romilda was rather cloudy in terms of diction and cool in
characterization; the voice and person are both undeniably lovely but
I was less impressed than I had expected to be; perhaps it was a case
of first-night nerves.
The wonderful Nicholas Hytner production has been lovingly
revived by Michael Walling, with those Vauxhall Gardens, grey – robed
supernumeraries, massive exhibits and exquisite lighting tableaux (originally
by Paul Pyant, revived by Nick Moran) as evocative as ever, but I felt
that some of the confrontations between characters, especially the King
and his brother, could use a little sharpening up. Harry Bicket, always
reliable as a Handel conductor, directed a fast – paced, delicately
shaded reading of the score, giving the singers plenty of room to breathe
and shaping the continuo quite beautifully. A classic ENO evening, and
it was a shame that the house was not absolutely full; one hopes that
audiences will get bigger as the run goes on, since this is an opera
which should be seen and heard in such committed and vibrant performances
as we experienced last night.
Melanie Eskenazi
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