by “Agency” is a permanent word in opera, well worn but still valid and usually preceded by “woman”. It was long assumed that women who were abused, who were controlled, did not have free will in dying. A radical rethinking, of history as a whole, and of opera, put this prospect in the dock. One of the sharpest cross-examiners, who examines all hard points of view, is the British director Katie Mitchell, whose work has been seen (another wording: “divided audiences”) across Europe since the mid-1990s.
Her performance of Gaetano Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), as troubled as it is incomprehensible and thoughtful, has returned to the Royal Opera House for a second revival. Soprano Nadine Sierra is excellent in the title role (her American colleague Liv Redpath will give three performances). Sierra alone, leading a strong uniformed ensemble, would be a reason to see this show. Giacomo Sagripanti conducted, with a chorus and orchestra in a passionate form and a beautiful solo flute obbligato in the famous mental scene.
Although the men in this opera are very excited about ancient contests and future fortunes, the tragic Lucia is shown here acting, in ways not usually seen and despite oppression on all sides, with an independent spirit. Finally, her health falls, perhaps always weak. Based on Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, the work is an excellent example of Italian “bel canto”, which simply means beautiful singing but embodies an entire 19th-century Italian operatic style built around vocal fireworks, trilling ornamentation and beauty . Young Spanish tenor Xabier Anduaga, as Edgardo, her beloved enemy, matches Sierra’s fearless high notes and super-quick trills with responsive grace and intensity. Polish baritone Artur Ruciński is rich and convincing as her bully brother Enrico.
Mythos Lucia it reminds us, unequivocally, of the etymology of hysteria (origin, uterus). The bloody midriff of the bride-to-be, her stomach rumbling and vomiting, may indicate a shameful pregnancy, or, simply, if that word is permissible, menstruation, both lazy associations with female madness. Designed with enormous detail by Vicki Mortimer, the staging splits the action into two: public and private, external and internal, developing in parallel. Sometimes the simultaneous events are distracting; easier to follow if you have purchased a program and studied the second column of the double summary beforehand. There is no doubting Mitchell’s seriousness, if the results are ultimately too conclusive. This revival (directed by Robin Tebbutt) shows us, time and time again, the power of brilliant singing. On opening night, the audience felt like a fourth main character, alert to every vocal victory, obscene, offensive, generous. It may be an excellent musical, but this production, for its small frustrations, shows that it is much more than that.
Two chamber concerts I went to last week served as an unwitting prelude – and earlier – to this year’s BBC Proms, which launched on Thursday. In the first, at the Wigmore Hall, Lawrence Power, a superior viola player, led the Ensemble Nash for the final program in a day event which will be devoted to the Australian composer-violinist Brett Dean (b.1961). Dean’s hallmark is his special gift for creating musical atmosphere: reworking music by William Byrd, in Dean’s Byrdsong Study (2021), transported us to a ghostly Tudor past, the sound of soft, zigzagging harps (Xiaowen Shang) whispering down the ages and meeting the present. Dean Approach (Prelude to a Canon), written to go straight into the Brandenburg Concerto No 6, is an active, contentious exchange between soloists that makes Bach’s music emerge suddenly, liberated. Dean and Power also showed their enthusiasm (Dean used to play in the Berlin Philharmonic) in George Benjamin’s assembly. Viola, Viola (1997), a succinct invention described by the composer as “a truly wild and ecstatic journey”. It really was.
A second chamber concert, at Milton Court, was featured Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic and Barbican artist-in-residence. A consummate player who can turn a blizzard of notes into a long, poetic, lyrical line, McGill was with Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective for Clarinet Quintet Brahms and Messiaen’s Quatuor for la fin du temps. Neither work, while rewarding, felt too embedded, with some slippage in the ensemble, but McGill’s playing was a model of prudence, freedom and imagination. The clarinet movement in Messiaen, Abîme des Oiseaux, was a masterclass in the expressive range of a single line of music.
And so with the Proms. Both Power and McGill will play concerts this year – Cassandra Miller for viola, Mozart for piano. The backbone of the season, looking at the 73 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, is the centenary of Bruckner and the epic Mahler. You can write that off as conservative or you can hope that, as happened last year, the appeal of the orchestral and choral exceptions will draw the crowds. They represent the best of the Albert Hall, and the Proms. For the quirky and original, check out the wider UK concerts in Gateshead, Nottingham and Bristol.
Visiting orchestras include the Czech Philharmonic and East-West Divan. The must-see heavyweights, with two concerts each, are the Berlin Philharmonic with Kirill Petrenko, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with their new principal conductor, Simon Rattle. The Last Night will include, after a multi-year head start, Rule, Britannia! The longer Britain dominates the airwaves, the great idea, the less it may matter if Thomas Arne’s big tune turns into a song for the audience. But sensitivities are high and questions are properly asked. Soprano Angel Blue and pianist Stephen Hough are the famous Last Night soloists. Sakari Oramo will launch.
The Proms announcement came days after the death of Andrew Davis, 80, the open-minded and long-time principal music director of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It was to be conducted at this year’s Proms. Let’s dedicate the entire 2024 season to the funny and wonderful memory of Davis. If someone can do the reasonable thing and repeat his unforgettable modern-grand-generic parody of Last Night, he might be at peace, according to his spirit.
Star ratings (out of five)
Lucia di Lammermoor ★★★★
Ensemble Nash ★★★★★
Anthony McGill and Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective ★★★★
Fiona Maddocks’ choice from the 2024 Proms
In chronological order. Be sure to book early; tickets go on sale at 9am on Saturday 18 May.
Prom 4
Hallé/Mark Elder (July 21)
Mahler’s Symphony No. 5
Prom 6
BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, Crouch End Festival Chorus/Ryan Bancroft (July 23)
Verdi’s Requiem
Prom 15
The Swingles, BBC Philharmonic/Nicholas Collon (July 30)
Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphony
Prom 21
London Sinfonia/John Wilson (August 4)
John Adams: Harmonielehre
Prom 31
Divine West-East Orchestra / Daniel Barenboim (August 11)
Schubert “Major” C Major Symphony No 9
Prom 37
London Symphony Orchestra and chorus/Antonio Pappano (August 17)
Britten’s war requiem
Prom 42
Aurora Orchestra/Nicholas Collon (August 21)
Ninth of Beethoven’s heart
Proms 55 & 56
Berlin Philharmonic / Kirill Petrenko (31 August & 1 September)
Smetana: If vlast/Bruckner Symphony No 5
Proms 61 & 62
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Simon Rattle (5 & 6 September)
Bruckner Symphony No. 4/Mahler Symphony No. 6
