Take a seat for
THE OPERAS of 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner attract an ardent following who travel almost anywhere in the world to attend the marathon four-part Der Ring Des Nibelungen or
as it is commonly known. It is an extraordinary work that draws on Norse myth in its cast of gods, giants, dwarfs, dragons, and heroes. There are scenes of shape-changing magic, a powerful ring that brings a curse to its possessor, and a very human love story.
It sounds rather like Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings, except that Wagner got there first, completing the initial opera Das Rheingold in 1854.
This year saw the final outing of Keith Warner’s eclectic production for the Royal Opera House. The staging provoked controversy among Wagner traditionalists when the first part opened in 2004 but, seen over the course of one week, it is a totally immersive experience.
Casting was well nigh perfect, with leading Wagnerian soprano Swedish Nina Stemme in glorious voice as Brunnhilde, favourite Valkyrie daughter of King of the Gods Wotan. Brunnhilde’s love for the hero Siegfried is a central theme in the discursive saga that ends tragically with the death of Siegfried.
Heldentenor Stefan Vinke as
Cycle, The Ring
IN A YEAR when political commentators have used the words “tragedy”, “charade”, “sorry spectacle” and “farce” more often than drama critics, it may seem hard for the theatre to compete with events on the national stage. Nevertheless, it continues to thrive, offering plays, performances and productions to cherish.
Good new plays remain a rarity, however. It is difficult to argue with Melvyn Bragg’s assertion that TV is the true national theatre when many of our best playwrights work on the small screen. Yet there were three new plays which, by dint of invention, sensitivity and stagecraft, matched the writing in any medium. Charlotte Jones’s
set in a Quaker community during the Napoleonic Wars, is an immensely rich study of love, faith, language and silence. It has a serenity rare in contemporary drama and, after its brief run in Chichester, deserves to be widely seen elsewhere.
Matthew Lopez’s
brilliantly explores the lives of two generations of gay New
Yorkers – and one bereaved Southern mother – through the prism of EM Forster’s Howard’s End. As ambitious as Tony Kushner’s Angels In America, it also saw the performance of the year in
Paul Hilton’s Forster.
David Haig’s
Agrippina, Romeo Et Juliette Falstaff The The Pressure
may performances in the title roles by Eric Greene and Nicole Cabell.
Opera Holland Park kicked off its 2018 season with a breathtaking production of Verdi’s by director Rodula Gaitanou that captured the hedonistic world of courtesan Violetta Valery, searingly portrayed by young Australian soprano Lauren Fagan.
OHP staged its first Richard Strauss opera in a wickedly funny production by Antony McDonald that ended with a fireworks display. Coloratura soprano Jennifer France added vocal fireworks as perky comedienne Zerbinetta.
In its second year under artistic director Michael Chance, Grange Festival in Hampshire scored a baroque hit with Handel’s
written for the 1709-10 Venetian Carnevale and updated to the 21st century by director Tom Sutcliffe. Anna Bonitatibus was magnificent as scheming Agrippina, ruthless in her campaign to see son Nero as Emperor.
Grange Park Opera at West Horsley, Surrey, gave Gounod’s
another clever updating, from the Renaissance to fascist 1930s Verona.
Garsington Opera at Wormsley meanwhile produced the most cheerful production of Verdi’s
I have seen in recent years, directed by Bruno Ravella with bass-baritone Henry Waddington as the fat knight.
La Traviata Ariadne Auf Naxos