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ENGLISH Touring Opera’s [ETO] much-awaited annual visit to Bath Theatre Royal week sees them perform across two consecutive nights as they present Radamisto, one of the finest works of the great dramatist and composer George Frederic Handel on Monday followed the next day by a unique triple bill of rare 17th century music and opera, featuring Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Jonas by Giacomo Carissimi and I Will Not Speak by Carlo Gesualdo. ETO’S acclaimed new staging of Radamisto is famous for its aria Ombra Cara which stunned audiences and was sung in many a drawing room for decades thereafter. Championing themes of faithfulness and married love, it tells the dramatic story of a royal family in old Armenia, who are locked in mortal conflict. And, for good measure, it has a fine gallery of moral depravity and intolerance. Taking the Armenian setting as inspiration, Adam Wiltshire’s designs draw on a rich history of early Christian art and design from the Caucasus. But what actually makes ‘one of Handel’s most appreciated operas’ so well loved by audiences? I asked Katie Bray, who is playing Zenobia in this new production. “Firstly, I didn’t know that it was called that because it isn’t done very much,” the delightfully friendly Exeter-born mezzo-soprano told me. “But I can see why it is because the music is so incredibly dramatic with so much variety in it. Radamisto also has such incredible arias and a most thrilling overture. It really is full of gems. And the story is very dramatic too, and easy to be sucked into,” Katie added, adding that Radamisto is the name of the main character who is ‘the sort of hero of the show’ and married to her character Zenobia. Radamisto is described as an opera which ‘champions faithfulness and married love’ with ‘a fine gallery of moral depravity and intolerance’? What does that mean exactly? “Wow,” Katie responded straight away. “Well I think that is right, because the foundation of the story is that the very moral and honourable Radamisto and Zenobia are very much in love with each other. That’s the crux of the matter. But, along the way, they are in the hands of a tyrant who wants his wicked way with her, so that’s where some of the moral depravity and intolerance you mention comes in. “The tyrant is essentially some kind of psychopath with no moral compass at all. And he won’t stop at anything to get what he wants. He wants Zenobia and won’t give up until he gets her!” In many ways not so different from the way some people behave today, I suggested. “Oh yes, absolutely,” Katie replied. “It is a totally timeless play and I think that’s why people connect with it. Violence isn’t going to solve anything, yet it continues to happen. The tyrannical character is incredibly greedy and he always has his way. A bit like Donald Trump really,” the recently married opera star said with a laugh. Katie disagreed with my assertion that all the ‘best’ operas are sung in Italian. “No, I really wouldn’t agree with that even though lots and lots of them are fantastic and obviously written in Italian. But there really are many, many wonderful French and German operas too. I think that Italian opera is done more, though. And, of course,” Katie added, “English. They are not all just Gilbert &
Sullivan. There’s Benjamin Britten for example, whose works are mind-blowingly wonderful. And there’s also lots of wonderful contemporary English operas as well. So we shouldn’t think that only Italian opera is worth bothering with, as great as it is.” Before singing in Italian, is it essential to know the piece in English first? “It depends really. Because we’ve all been in this business for a while, travelled around a lot, sung lots of songs and performed in lots of operas, so we pick up the language as we go along. And, in some cases, we learn to speak the language as well, enabling us to work out just what the song or score is about,” Kate said matter-of-factly. “But what I find really useful is what our director James does with us at rehearsal. He gets us to play the scene first of all in Italian and then gets us to translate it into English. This helps us to get right into the text and right into the characters. “To be a convincing performer you can’t just say the words in the perfect accent, because otherwise you might as well just be reading a shopping list.” Consistently earning praise for her outstanding stage presence and vocal performances, Katie has fast established herself as an artist to watch. Performing with highly-respected companies such as English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North and Scottish Opera, Katie’s numerous stage credits are most impressive including Hansel and Gretel, Cavalleria Rusticana, Don Giovanni, La Scala di Seta and Barbiere di Saviglia. And now back with English Touring Opera and Radamisto, the company described her as ‘a jewel in this country’s operatic crown.’ Quite an accolade. “Yes, it’s an amazing thing to say. But it is such a fantastic company, particularly for launching young singers at the beginning of their careers,” Katie- ‘very much a Devon girl still,’ replied. “ETO’S skill really lies in helping to get people on the ladder, to get them started. They are a wonderful company, really supportive and very loyal to people they take on.” For some people, opera is and always will be regarded as a somewhat elitist genre. But how did this somewhat ‘snobby’ and disparaging label come about? “I think some of it is to do with language barriers, because many times we are singing in a language which is not [the audience’s] mother tongue. And also I think there used to be such a crazy price for opera tickets which was prohibitive for so many people. But that’s not so much the case now because it is much more affordable now which is the way it should be. Opera should be there for all, the cost of tickets prices should not be a barrier. And the really good opera companies are already making operas accessible to everyone by addressing this issue.” Does Katie feel that singing in an opera is harder than speaking as in a straight drama? “I don’t think so. We all tell stories in what we do, but I suppose we in opera just happen to have another layer of music on top of it. I suppose we might feel more restricted because we have to go with the metre of the music. I suppose the music enhances your ability to tell the story.” Katie, who still has family living in Exeter, is equally at home on the concert platform performing in prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and the Holywell Music Room, as well as appearing regularly in the London Song Festival. Particularly noted for her baroque repertoire, Katie graduated as a Karaviotis Scholar from the opera course at the Royal Academy of Music and was awarded the Principal’s Prize, and won First Prize, in the Richard Lewis Singing Competition. Directed by James Conway and sung in Italian with English subtitles, Radamisto is being performed by ETO’S period orchestra the Old Street Band. Radamisto’s director James Conway said: “I love Radamisto. Not only is it rich in musical and dramatic invention, but it fields a group of flawed, fascinating characters who are tested almost beyond endurance, who learn the harshest truths about themselves and others, who don’t necessarily improve - but who surprise, charm, seduce, repel and endure.”
Radamisto is playing the Theatre Royal Bath on Monday November 12. The Triple Bill of Dido & Aeneas, Jonas and I Will Not Speak takes to the stage on Tuesday November 13. Tickets can be bought from the box office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk