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.

Rigoletto, Opera Holland Park, OHP, July 2011

This was a terrific performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto in a simple but very effective staging. The set was essentially two large shipping containers, one serving principally as Rigoletto’s residence and the other as Sparafucile’s tavern.

Rigoletto after the abduction, all photos by Fritz Curzon

The first scene, of libidinous fun, with oligarchs in black tie and sexy girls in red slit skirts, worked well and never went over the top, and Monterone’s entrance and curse were powerfully done. It’s only a small role, but William Robert Allenby played and sang it for all it was worth. He was in good company with Jaewoo Kim as a stylish Duke with a beautiful voice. His soliloquy at the start of Act II showed real longing, if only of a temporary nature, yet he also managed the insouciance one expects of this libertine. His convincing charm to the ladies made it entirely understandable that Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda, and Sparafucile’s sister Maddalena should want to save his life. These darker characters, Sparafucile and Maddalena, who are willing to bend to Rigoletto’s vengeance were convincingly performed by Graeme Broadbent and Patricia Orr.

Gilda and Rigoletto

Rigoletto himself was brilliantly sung and performed by Robert Poulton. He didn’t overdo the nastiness of this character, as sometimes happens, yet his determination to take revenge came over very well when he makes the fatal mistake of telling his daughter to go home alone, after showing her the Duke’s real character. He also showed the softer side of his own character in dialogues with his adored Gilda, and Julia Sporsén sang her beautifully, very ably portraying this young woman’s emotional state in a virtual scream at the end of Act II when she admits that the Duke betrayed her but still pleads for his pardon.

Maddalena and the Duke

The production by Lindsay Posner, with designs by Tom Scutt, had some unusual and rather effective features. In the tavern scene of Act III, Sparafucile is watching football on television, and when the Duke bursts into La donna è mobile the picture suddenly changes to Pavarotti singing the same aria. The Duke grabs the remote control, presses the off-button and carries on, using the remote as if it’s a microphone — just the right point for a lighter moment. Then in the final scene when Rigoletto opens the sack to find his daughter inside she appears on top of the shipping container that served as their house, giving us a voice disembodied from the dead body in the sack. It’s a clever touch, because it always seems rather odd that Gilda can still be alive in the sack that Sparafucile hands over, let alone having the strength to sing.

Excellent conducting by Stuart Stratford with the City of London Sinfonia, and this wonderful production with its fine cast can still be seen until August 13 — for details click here.