by Garsington Opera has just opened a series of stunningly beautiful, light and spacious rehearsal studios, set in the lush Buckinghamshire countryside on the extensive Wormsley estate, as a result of a £14m appeal. The building has won architectural awards for its sympathetic use of brick, flint, wood and tile, and should attract other creatives to use its cavernous studios, particularly television production companies.
Its completion seems to have injected new confidence into the company, compliments of this year’s seasonal opener, Jean-Philippe Rameau’s. Platée, Garsington’s first venture into the French Baroque. And it is on television that director Louisa Muller turns in her new production, the vacuous nature of reality television in particular, bringing this 18th-century tale of Greek gods and morality right into the present day with a terrifyingly breathless intelligence. .
Rameau wrote the opera for the marriage of Louis XV’s son in 1745 to Maria Teresa of Spain, but it is not a piece that anyone would want at their wedding, as it mocks and humiliates the “Bride” and shows it is that she is cruel, relentless. schemers. No wonder it was for one performance at Versailles. However, Rameau’s idiosyncratic, completely unique score ensured that it had a life outside the rigid formalities of the court. This is a composer who was writing at the same time as Handel, but still in a strongly experimental style, one in which strange periods, sudden changes in themes and fresh orchestral effects add to the humor of the opera at every turn.
Jupiter’s wife, Juno, went off in a jealous rage, sending Olympus’ TV into a panic. They have to come up with a scheme to get their star back, so they think a Love Island/Big Brother –a style show in which Jupiter will choose a new bride to mock – Platée, an unprepared marsh nymph who expresses herself as extremely attractive. Rameau plays the part for a high tenor in drag, while Samuel Boden excels in a series of outrageous costumes by designer Christopher Oram: a green and sparkly swimsuit with matching flip-flops; peacock-tailed tutu; wedding dress over the top.
Amanda Echalaz as Tosca is every inch the heroine, every inch the diva
It’s a part that director Paul Agnew knows well, as, perhaps alone, he has sung the role and directed the opera several times. That special knowledge of Rameau is key to the stunning success of this production, as well as Muller’s idea that reality TV contestants are just as delusional in their self-esteem as poor Platée. His humiliation is felt when Juno sees the joke as an uncomfortable reflection on modern suspicions and hostility towards “the other”.
The energy coming from the stage could power those new rehearsal studios, as movement director Rebecca Howell keeps the young chorus chasing a frenetic pace, sadly at times drowning out some wonderfully alert playing coming from Concert England. Things went a little towards the convent, but there is fine singing from Robert Murray as Thespis and Mercury, Henry Waddington as Satyr and Chitheron, and Ossian Huskinson as Jupiter, with a lovely cameo from soprano Holly Teague. The street-style dancing is fantastic, bringing cranky old Rameau into the 21st century.
Stephen Barlow’s magnetic production of Puccini in the 1960s Factors at Opera Holland Park hasn’t been seen since 2008, so while it’s technically a revival, it’s also unknown to a brand new generation of musicians. After a wait of 16 years, he comes up as fresh as the dawn of the sun in the Rome of his age. The Dolce Vitaseductive on the surface but seething with danger and deception.
Scarpia, the ruthless chief of police, is a sharp-suited political populist here. “Vote Scarpia” posters shouted; the scene of the Te Deum in Act 1 becomes an ugly rally, with protesters like 1968 beaten and chased by the domineering minions. Scarpia runs his operation not from the vaulted rooms of a grand palazzo but like a mafia boss from the tables of a seedy trattoria, he is one of his squalid lackeys. Attention to detail is key when translating a musical from its original time frame, and this production has a high score, maintaining the 60s vibe right through to the end.
It is an excellence that will be spent splashing into this seay world. Amanda Echalaz as Tosca performs her performance since 2008, every inch the heroine, every inch the diva. Her encounter in Act 2 with the astute Scarpia is electrifying; she’s still terrifyingly defiant, vulnerable yet steely, a portrayal enhanced by designer Yannis Thavoris’ decision to dress her like Callas in bulk. Morgan Pearse as Scarpia makes a stunning, chillingly sinister debut with Opera Holland Park, rock-solid voice and stagecraft intact. Portuguese tenor José de Eça is also his victim, Tosca’s lover, Cavaradossi, is also making his OHP debut.
Some of the most notable small parts include Ross Ramgobin as the frightened Sacristan, Edwin Kaye as the fugitive Angelotti and Philip Costovski as Spoletta’s henchman. The OHP chorus excels as a parade of concerned citizens, priests, nuns and parents, while the London City Sinfonia, celebrating 20 years as OHP’s orchestra-in-residence, is alert to Matthew Kofi Waldren’s lively direction, especially in Puccini’s serene rendition of a plot of the day Rome’s troubles.
Star ratings (out of five)
Platée ★★★★
Tosca ★★★★
• Platée at Garsington Opera, Wormsley, Buckinghamshire, until 30 June
• Factors at Opera Holland Park, London, until 22 June
