The Siege of Calais, English Touring Opera, Hackney Empire, March 2013

This is stirring stuff. Although Donizetti’s L’assedio di Calais (The Siege of Calais) with its unsatisfactory third act is rarely performed, James Conway’s production, which eliminates Act III and its happy ending, is a revelation.

Rodin: The Burghers of Calais

This opera, which immediately followed Lucia di Lammermoor, deals with real historical events. In 1346, towards the start of the Hundred Years War, England’s King Edward III besieged Calais, and in 1347 the siege was still in place. The history is disputed but this opera is based on Pierre du Belloy’s patriotic 1765 play Le siège de Calais, where in order to raise the siege the king demands the city turn over seven of its leading citizens to certain death. Six volunteers, including the mayor and his son, come forth and their resolute bravery so impressed Edward’s mother Queen Isabella that she pleaded for their pardon. The king acceded and Rodin’s sculpture The Burghers of Calais, celebrating their selfless act, can be seen today in Westminster.

Aurelio in enemy territory, all images ETO/ RichardHubertSmith

In this production the action starts during the overture with the mayor’s son Aurelio foraging for food and being temporarily captured by the enemy. Towards the end he defiantly rejects the king’s demands for the slaughter of noble hostages, but his father Eustace insists on sacrifice lest everyone die of starvation. In the absence of Act III, though two of its better numbers are included in the first two acts, we see the six burghers trudging off to their death.

Aurelio with father, wife and baby

After the stage calls, cheers and bravos, just as everyone was starting to leave, the orchestra suddenly struck a lighter mood with ballet music from Act III, and we all stepped out into a cold night with a warm feeling of having seen a memorable performance of this little known opera.

Designs by Samal Blak, well lit by Ace McCarron, bring the action into the twentieth century, and Jeremy Silver’s conducting brought out the life and energy of Donizetti’s score. Eddie Wade, whom I last saw as a fine Gunther in The Ring, portrayed a noble mayor, and Paula Sides sang strongly in the soprano role of Aurelio’s wife. The chorus was excellent and there were fine performances from the supporting cast, Andrew Glover in particular.

Six honourable victims

But the singer that made this a knock-out was Australian mezzo Helen Sherman as Aurelio. Before she started singing, her convincing mannerisms and body language made me think she was a man, and she gave a stunning portrayal of the role. The defiant aria in Act I, and in Act II the duet with his wife, the rejection of the enemy, and the farewell aria to his baby were riveting. Helen Sherman’s mezzo voice is world class, and a glance at her website shows she is singing a huge range of different roles — I look forward to hearing her again.

Congratulations to the ETO. This is unmissable, and if it were in London for a second night I’d go again.

Performances continue on tour at: Exeter Northcott, 22nd Mar; Norwich Theatre Royal, 27th Mar; York Theatre Royal, 13th Apr; Snape Maltings Concert Hall, 20th Apr; Buxton Opera House, 27th Apr; Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, 2nd May; Warwick Arts Centre, 11th May; Perth Festival, Perth Theatre, 16th May; Cambridge Arts Theatre, 21st May — for details click here.

Eugene Onegin, English Touring Opera, ETO, Hackney Empire, March 2012

Having seen Onegin performed on a large stage by major opera companies, with glamorous ball scenes and spacious settings for the Larin country estate, I approached this smaller stage production with some trepidation. But it was a revelation. The simple sets provide the perfect atmosphere, and the performance gives a wonderful insight into Tchaikovsky’s representation of Pushkin’s drama.

All images by Richard Hubert Smith

The solo roles were superbly played. Nicholas Lester exhibited huge stage presence as Onegin, and his portrayal showed an engagingly haughty mixture of regret and determination. As Tatyana, Sarah-Jane Davies sang beautifully, her face, if not her body, showing her emotions; and as Olga, Niamh Kelly performed brilliantly as the rather coquettish younger sister who inspires Lensky’s love and Onegin’s attentions, but lacks the maturity to respond to her lover. As Lensky himself, Jaewoo Kim was poetically moving with his glorious tenor voice, and Andrew Glover as Monsieur Triquet, the other tenor in this cast, sang with a delightful French accent — a nice touch. Just before Tatyana’s letter scene, which Ms. Davies sang beautifully, her late-night conversation with Filippyevna her nurse was entirely convincing. Frances McCafferty gave a gripping rendering of this middle-aged lady’s account of being compelled to marry so early, and her new concern that Tatyana is consumed with being in love.

Filippyevna with Tatyana

Under the baton of music director Michael Rosewall the orchestra played superbly, and he gave fine support to the singers. The production itself is the work of General Director James Conway, whose conception embodies spare yet very effective designs by Joanna Parker, and even one or two subtle video projections. Those branches and the apples at the beginning brought us straight into the atmosphere of the Larin estate, showing how much can be done with very little, and I loved the oblique two-way mirror which served to split the stage into darkness and light, as well as doubling the number of couples in the ball scene.

Onegin and Olga at the ball, Lensky looking on

The dancing was very well choreographed by Bernadette Iglich, with Onegin and Olga whirling through the other dancers in the waltz, and a very agreeable cotillon for the whole company when Lensky is pointedly left aside. The mirror helps give a sense of claustrophobia that he yearns to break, sensing that Olga’s love for him cannot rise to the poetic realm he inhabits, and Onegin presents a fine object for his despair.

This is a great production of Tchaikovsky’s best-loved opera, and despite being a revival of the 2007 production it feels completely fresh and is a must-see.

Performances continue on tour at: Exeter Northcott, 21, 24 March; Hall for Cornwall, Truro, 27 March; Lighthouse, Poole, 31 March; York Theatre Royal, 4 Apr; Norwich Theatre Royal, 11 Apr; Snape Maltings Concert Hall, 14 Apr; Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, 17 Apr; The Hawth, Crawley, 21 Apr; G Live Guildford, 24 Apr; Buxton Opera House, 27 Apr; Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, 2, 5 May; Warwick Arts Centre, 10, 11 May; Gala Theatre, Durham, 15 May; Perth Festival, Perth Theatre, 18 May; Cambridge Arts Theatre, 23, 26 May — for details click here.

Le Nozze di Figaro, Opera Holland Park, OHP, July 2011

I’ve never seen this before — not Figaro, I mean, but such extensive choreography, and I don’t just mean movement among the performers. There were chainé turns as servants enter and exit the stage, along with the occasional pas-de-deux, all very well rehearsed and executed. The Crazy Day is the other title for Beaumarchais’ original play, and this production by Liam Steel, who also did the choreography, certainly gave full rein to the craziness. There was a great deal of busy movement and kissing between servants during the overture, and when two women got together — one dressed as a man — I took this to indicate the libidinous nature of the Count’s household, though in fact the servant en travesti later turned out to be Cherubino.

Near the end of Act II, all photos by Fritz Curzon

For a lively production of Figaro with minimal but effective sets, one could hardly do better. The performers moved and so did the furniture. A legless dining table, occasional table, chair and decapitated mirror join in the choreography, and when someone needed to be seated, the chair helpfully moved into place. It was all rather fun, and Matthew Willis did a fine job in the orchestra pit, giving plenty of zip to Mozart’s music.

Elizabeth Llewellyn and Jane Harrington as the Countess and Susanna

As to the singing, when Elizabeth Llewellyn came on as the Countess in Act II, with her cavatina Porgi, amor asking for love, the whole performance went up a couple of notches. She was terrific, and her Act III soliloquy Dove sono i bei momenti when she laments the apparent loss of her husband’s affections was beautifully done. Jane Harrington gave a lively and strongly sung performance of Figaro’s fiancée Susanna, and George von Bergen, whom I remember as an excellent Macbeth in Bloch’s opera of that name two years ago, was an admirably solid presence as the Count. Matthew Hargreaves, who was an excellent Leporello in Holland Park’s Don Giovanni last year, gave a similar performance here as Figaro, but I felt he lacked the vocal depth and bearing this senior servant of the Count’s household should have. Hannah Pedley clearly relished her role as Cherubino, and Barbarina was prettily sung and played by Jaimee Marshall, who was also a very effective partner in one of the pas-de-deux. Lynton Black was an amusing Dr. Bartolo, with a brilliant facial tick when he finds that Figaro is his own son, Sarah Pring was excellent as his wife Marcellina, and Andrew Glover was a fine Don Basilio and Don Curzio.

By the time we were in Act IV it was fully dark outside and Colin Grenfell’s lighting on stage worked beautifully. There were even fireworks heard from afar, giving an effective end to The Crazy Day.

Performances continue every other day until July 16 — for details click here.

Il Tabarro, and Gianni Schicchi, English Touring Opera, ETO, Hackney Empire, March 2011

Of the operas dealing with unfaithfulness in marriage, where a man kills his wife’s lover, the two that really get to me are Mascagni’s Cavalieri Rusticana, and Puccini’s Il Tabarro. The Puccini is a superbly dark and intense drama and, like his other operas, combines musical depth with gripping theatre. Moored on the Seine is a barge whose owner, Michele has lost the love of his much younger wife, Giorgetta after the loss of their baby a year before. While he manages the business and broods, she takes up with a handsome young stevedore named Luigi.

Luigi and Giorgetta, all photos by Richard Hubert Smith

The end is never in doubt, but in the meantime we hear about the frustrations of life. There are two other stevedores: Tinca who drinks because his wife goes with other men, and Talpa whose wife comes to the boat and tells Giorgetta of her dreams for a quiet retirement. At this point, Julie Unwin who sang Giorgetta with immense emotional power, launched into È ben altro il mio sogno! giving us the highlight of the evening, a wonderful cri de coeur for the romance of life in a Paris suburb. Two young lovers lighten the mood before the end when Luigi mistakes the lighting of Michele’s pipe for Giorgetta’s signal to come to the boat and meet her. When she finally reappears from below deck, she tries to make up with her husband and reminds him he once told her that everyone wears a cloak (tabarro) that sometimes hides happiness, sometimes something sad. “And sometimes a crime” is the response.

Michele lights his pipe, heralding the dénouement

Simon Thorpe gave us a sympathetic portrayal of Michele, with Charne Rochford handsome and strong-voiced as his wife’s lover. Tinca and Talpa were wonderfully portrayed by Andrew Glover and Arwel Huw Morgan, and with James Conway’s direction the whole cast worked tremendously well together. The designs by Neil Irish gave just the right sense of darkness and closeness, and while this was very much a team effort, Julie Unwin was assuredly the star — utterly convincing in her amorous frustration.

Gianni Schicchi was a fine way to end the evening, and Richard Mosley-Evans played the title role with great theatrical panache. This was enormous fun, with Paula Sides as Schicchi’s daughter, and Ashley Catling as her fiancé, along with Buoso’s ridiculously grasping family, the doctor, the lawyer and the witnesses.

Reading Buoso's will before Schicchi arrives

The whole thing came off very well indeed, and Paula Sides gave a lovely rendering of O mio babbino caro. The ending, with the fires of hell spouting up as if by accident from the boxes in the room, and the dead Buoso tumbling out of a cupboard, was a fitting finale to a fine evening’s entertainment, well conducted by Michael Rosewall in the orchestra pit.

Lauretta pleads with her father Schicchi: O mio babbino caro

After a further performance in London at the Hackney Empire on March 11, this pair of operas goes on tour to the following venues: Cambridge Arts Theatre, March 17, 18; Exeter Northcott, March 24, 25; Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells, March 28; The Hawth, Crawley, April 1; The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, April 7, 8; The Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, April 11; Snape Maltings Concert Hall, April 15; Norwich Theatre Royal, April 20; Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, May 3; Buxton Opera House, May 5; Hall for Cornwall, Truro, May 10; Lighthouse, Poole, May 13; Gala Theatre, Durham, May 16; Perth Festival, Perth Theatre, May 21; Grand Opera House, Belfast, May 26, 27.