Bright and breezy, but no heart-stoppers
Partenope ENO, London Coliseum
Isaw this production by Christopher Alden some nine years ago, when it was first staged by ENO, but have retained virtually no memory of it at all. It’s that sort of a show – bright and breezy, slips down easy, but it’s not something that leaves much after-taste.
Nor am I convinced that Partenope should rank as one of Handel’s finest operas. The pace is swift, there are some charming ensembles and the arias are shorter than in Tamerlano or
Rodelinda. But there are none of those great heart-stopping moments that light up Ariodante or Alcina, and the central figure is one of those sex-kittens whom Handel would incarnate more subtly in Giulio Cesare and Semele.
As for the broadly comic plot, it is a silly baroque farrago in which everyone is in love with someone else, and making psychological sense of its whimsical twists and turns is hard work. Alden doesn’t aim for clarity: his concept ignores Partenope’s status as a warrior queen and transplants the amorous intrigues from a royal court to the beau monde of Noël Coward’s Design for Living, adding a surrealist flavour to its salon sophistication.
As concepts go, it’s not a bad one, although it gets more daftly camp as the evening proceeds. It looks and sounds very good, however: Adam Lieberman and Jon Morrell’s sets and costumes make an attractive spectacle, and Amanda Holden’s translation is both crisp and fluent.
In the title role, Sarah Tynan is deliciously tart, sustaining shining tone and crystal diction through eight taxing arias, notably the beautiful Act 2 “Voglio amare”. Patricia Bardon is highly accomplished as the lovelorn Arsace, and spirited newcomer Stephanie Windsor-Lewis makes a vivid vocal impression as RosmiraEurimene. James Laing and Matthew Durkan both display comic flair as the fall guys Ormonte and Armindo, and Rupert Charlesworth, a late substitute for Robert Murray, sings with robust confidence as Emilio, presented here as the photographer Man Ray. They are all admirably sustained by Christian Curnyn, whose buoyant conducting draws vivacious playing from the band.
Until March 24. Tickets: 020 7845 9300; eno.org