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Beethoven, Fidelio: Concert performance by London Lyric Opera, Soloists, Philharmonia Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Madeleine Lovell (conductor). Cadogan Hall, London 17.2.2009 (JPr)


Fidelio at Cadogan Hall was the second major operatic offering from the recently established London Lyric Opera. After a highly ambitious – some might say over-ambitious – ‘launch’ with Der fliegende Holländer at the Barbican last November (review),  London Lyric Opera presented Fidelio in the wonderful acoustics of  the more intimate Cadogan Hall. This probably enhanced the power of Beethoven’s sublimely simple story contrasting the struggle for political liberty and a loving wife’s bravery, which some - occasionally perverse - stagings can dilute.

Most will be aware that Beethoven was never quite satisfied with his only completed opera and there are indeed four possible overtures for it. In fact what Beethoven left us, is probably more of a cantata than a fully-fledged opera. There are many clunky transitions in the piece which segment the drama into individual ‘numbers’. In Act I for instance we find the Jacquino/Marzelline duet, Marzelline’s  aria, a quartet, Rocco's ‘gold’ aria, a  trio, a march, Don Pizarro’s ‘vengeance aria’, another duet, Leonore's big scena, a chorus for the prisoners (‘O welche Lust’) and the finale. In Act II, there is Florestan's scena, Fidelio and Rocco’s grave digging duet, another trio and finally a dramatic quartet when Pizarro nearly despatches Florestan. All this is followed by a trumpet call after which our hero and heroine are saved when Minister of State, Don Fernando, arrives to joy and relief all round and the chorus sings Leonore’s praises. It is actually Beethoven’s vision of love and justice that triumphs in the end pointing as it does, if a tad optimistically, to a much better future in a much better world.

As opera in concert goes,   this was sensitively and considerately staged with all the principal vocalists singing from memory. The singers, dressed in a variety of ways, used only the front of the stage and the chorus were behind the orchestra. The only ‘props’ were a letter given to Pizarro, some water and a piece of bread for Florestan and it looked as though Pizarro had a knife for his murder attempt.

Andrew Staples is an experienced Jacquino, a role he has sung at Covent Garden, and his light tenor was ideal for this lovelorn character. Rachel Nicholls sang Marzelline with a wonderfully rich lyric soprano voice that filled the hall with sound with apparent ease. I had a little doubt about the security of her coloratura during her aria ‘O wär ich schon mit dir vereint’ but her singing was also very warm throughout and she made much of a character who has clearly led so sheltered life within the prison compound that she falls for a girl disguised as a young man. Richard Wiegold, born in Wales, looked like the grizzled veteran John Tomlinson as Rocco and also sounded a bit like him with his clear German diction, He negotiated the part with great musical skill without his bass voice really having the sonority of some of the greater Roccos. Don Pizarro, the sinister prison governor, was sung by James Hancock, founder of London Lyric Opera and he salvaged considerable dramatic authority from some rather uneven singing. Mr Hancock remains at a crossroads to my mind, and to my ears, his voice does not quite know whether if it still should be a tenor,  or a baritone. The American bass, Paul Goodwin-Groen, after a blip with the text,  gave some regal authority to Don Fernando and his voice contrasted well with the others. Also making a distinct  vocal impact was Nicky Spence’s notably refined First Prisoner.

Unfortunately, I took against Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts’s Florestan from his first utterance. For me, ‘Gott! Welch’ Dunkel hier!’ must be a cry of anguish as Florestan bemoans his likely fate while putting his trust in God that Leonore may yet come to save him. Here, Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts used too much head voice for my liking with the result that everything sounded limp and rather like an aria from an oratorio. To be fair, the role is fiendishly demanding and I have been present when it has challenged some of the greatest heroic voices over the years. I suspect too that Mr Lloyd-Roberts might have been suffering the effects of a cold and that this was the reason for some ill-tuned and poorly supported singing in certain passages. Fortunately though, since this was a concert performance,  it  didn’t matter much that - like most heldentenors -  he didn't look exactly like a starving prisoner!

As Fidelio/Leonore,  it was a pleasure to welcome back to a London stage the very experienced dramatic soprano, Elizabeth Connell in one of her most famous roles.  Almost unbelievably, she has been singing in the world’s greatest opera houses to much acclaim since 1972 and her voice remains impressive in the key solo, ‘Abscheulicher! ... Komm Hoffnung’, as well as in all her duets and other ensembles. Although the role clearly tests her stamina now and her tone became slightly steely towards the end of the opera,  she can still colour her voice with considerable expressivity. She remains a compelling performer, even as here on the concert platform, because of her total involvement with ‘arc’ that her character goes through in the story.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played well in a venue familiar to them. Forty four players were listed and the line-up followed Beethoven’s instrumentation for brass and woodwind, but I thought the strings seemed just a little less full than the ideal. Madeleine Lovell is guest conductor of London Lyric Opera and was constantly in motion in the modern well-schooled way. Her whirling arms produced exceptional results from the musicians and the Philharmonia chorus also sang with precision and great feeling. Ms Lovell’s account of the score was light-textured, intense and gripping and although she was occasionally let down by her soloists,  the individual great moments were grandly done, as were the two big set pieces - Fidelio's/Leonore’s Act I recitative and aria and Florestan's Act II dungeon scene. Overall, the greatest pleasure came in the superbly matched and balanced ensemble work that Ms Lovell elicited from all concerned. In the end I didn’t miss sets and costumes and perhaps that is as it should be: when Beethoven has something important to tell us, it is to the instruments that he returns.

Jim Pritchard

For further details about forthcoming performances by London Lyric Opera visit their website :  http://www.londonlyricopera.com/.


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