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SEEN AND HEARD OPERA REVIEW

 

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas : Soloists, Choir of the Temple Church, The Temple Players, Dir. by James Vivian, Middle Temple Hall, London, 4. 6.2008 (ME)


This production of Dido and Aeneas was an appropriate choice as the centrepiece of the Middle Temple Hall’s 400^th Anniversary Festival – not only does its intimacy suit the hall’s ambience but both the opera’s librettist, Nahum Tate, and Purcell’s publisher, John Playford, had links with Temple Church – Playford, in fact, sold Purcell’s music from a stall in the church porch.

The opera presents directors with problems in that it is difficult to blend the imperial tragedy and grand passions with the near-comical aspects of the witches; David Edwards addressed this challenge by opting for a Japanese style costuming and movement – the latter was the responsibility of You-Ri Yamanaka, who trained in traditional Kabuki and in avant-garde Japanese dance (Butoh). Dido is a work which can bear such interpretation although there were times when the solemn figures of the chorus distracted the eye from the protagonists. Much use was made of symbolic armorial figures to correspond with the heroes, and macabre ghost mannequins for the witches, and it is greatly to the production’s credit that none of this interfered with either singing or movement.

‘When I am laid in Earth’ is one of the great arias, a precursor of ‘Dove Sono’ and ‘Hab’ mir’s gelobt’ and Louise Winter rose to its challenges in vocal terms although she found it difficult to create a sympathetic figure throughout, ‘Ah, Belinda’  revealing the best of her diction and style. The Belinda of Elin Manahan Thomas was a more rounded creation with clear and ringing tones. Andrew Rupp did what he could with the thankless rôle of Aeneas, and the very promising Simon Wall was an excellent sailor. The real stars of the show were the sorceress and witches, formidably led by Robin Blaze – the duet for the first and second witches ‘Our plot has took, the Queen’s forsook’, followed by its demoniac chorus, was the most successful part of the evening.

James Vivian’s musical direction, if at times a little muted, gave strong support to the singers with particular sensitivity from Joseph Crouch’s bass violin and Arngeir Hauksson’s theorbo. The staging, with the orchestra set in the middle of three walkways, must have presented difficulties but none were evident in the balance between ‘pit’ and singers.

Of course the major reason for attending events at Middle Temple Hall is the room itself, redolent of its centuries of history and set in the midst of the exquisite grounds and attendant buildings of what is normally the exclusive preserve of barristers, lawyers and clerks. There is a further performance of Dido and Aeneas on Saturday night (7^th)  and there are some enticing evenings to come, including a recital of Handel and Buxtehude by Simon Wall on July 10^th (highly recommended) and looking further on, concerts by Andreas Schiff (October 6^th) and Carolyn Sampson (November 6^th).

Melanie Eskenazi


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