by Good taste, that old killjoy, has done his best to make the reputation of the Italian double bill known as Cav and Pag. It didn’t work. These musicals will never lose their appeal. If anything they have more potency than ever. Game Pietro Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana (1889) and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (1892), one-hit wonders for their composers, portraying crimes of passion in poor village communities, with equally uplifting music. It was very popular to see ordinary people on the opera stage when the works were new. The perceived sleaze and crudities of the stories only added piquancy.
Damiano Michieletto’s 2015 stage play, set in cinematic post-war Italy, has returned to the Royal Opera House for its third star-studded revival directed by Daniel Oren. His depiction of violence against women, perhaps elevated, post #MeToo, by the director of the revival Noa Naamat is indifferent. All operas, in Paolo Fantin’s designs, use rotation. I Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic chivalry) a statue of the Madonna is carried in front of the village bakery for the Easter parade, while a hot adultery plays out behind it. The clowns i Pagliacci perform a show in the school hall. Behind the scenes and in front of a clever twist like sadistic Noise Outside.
An opera company is not an idea, nor a building. It is a group of highly skilled people who make the magic happen on stage
I Cav, slow to progress but a vortex of emotions when he does, Roberto Alagna showed continuous vocal ability as Turiddu, mamma’s boy and village stud, with Aleksandra Kurzak (she and Alagna are married) keen as the spurned Santuzza. Once again Elena Zilio, returning as Mamma Lucia, succeeds as the archetypal Italian widow. Dmitri Platanias blows a chilling hurricane as Alfio and Rachael Wilson is fierce and determined as his free-range wife, Lola.
In both operas only Platanias plays, as the resonant Tonio, the restless eel Pagliacci. Tenor Jorge de León made a notable ROH debut as the murderous Canio, fierce and accurate high notes, and Anna Princeva was compelling as his young wife, Nedda. The system work was nice and well choreographed. The orchestra under Oren, which seems to regularly get bad press but did a respectable job, brought out the bright colors in these two enthusiastic works. This is an excellent show, well worth watching.
The remainder of this column should focus on two seasonal events: the Bach event Christmas Oratorio, played over two evenings by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the OAE choir, conducted with fiery modesty by Bach authority Masaaki Suzuki; and Handel’s Messiah, sung by the Sixteen, directed by Harry Christophers. In the Bach, the young soloists went on from the 15-strong vocal ensemble led by Guy Cutting (tenor), a first-class Evangelist, clear, expressive, but without mannerisms. His brother, accompanist Hugh Cutting, soprano Jessica Cale and bass Florian Störtz were equally distinctive, with lively instrumental units, also from the OAE.
Expanded to 18 singers, The Sixteen had a bigger, hotter, different but equally fun sound. Handel’s masterpiece is a central treasure for them. You hear that in every note. Christophers allows the work to breathe, and it was blessed with exceptionally fine vocal soloists in Hilary Cronin (soprano) and Helen Charlston (alto).
Allow the brevity. Space must be given to the news that English National Opera will move to Manchester, by 2029. Greater Manchester has a population of less than 3 million. Greater London is closer to 10 million but can’t seem to sustain two major opera companies. Opera North, an exceptional and focused organisation, performs regularly in Salford. Everyone – ENO, the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, the Labor council and the city mayor, the new Factory International, the Lowry, Arts Council England, Opera North and, for good measure, the government, the National Theater and the Royal Opera House, as well as a few others – we are happy, according to the press release.
Everyone, we must accept, apart from the chorus, orchestra and technical staff of ENO, whose future is bleak, and whose collective voice is not heard. An opera company is not an idea. Nor is it a team of administrators. Or a building, even one as troubled but beloved as the Coliseum. It’s a group of highly skilled musicians and backstage wizards who make it happen, with their hard-won expertise. They give the company its identity, its character, its sound, its sense of community, its quality, its spirit, its ethos, its heart. If they are happy and joyful too, so will I be. For now, I reserve judgment.
Star ratings (out of five)
Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci ★★★★
OAE/Suzuki: Christmas Oratorio ★★★★
The Sixteen: Messiah ★★★★
