Alcina : Handel
Posted by: throbnorth on 02 May 2003
A big thumbs up for the current ENO production [about seven performances left - see : www.eno.org] Every Handel opera I've seen [ i.e.four] has been wonderful in its own way, and it makes me wonder what the fifty odd we don't get to see are like.
This is particularly beguiling - a spectacular production in a manner which although not exactly heritage would offend nobody [dazzling gilded set, which twirls and cavorts in a satisfying manner, sumptuous costumes by Sue Blane, who did both the Rocky Horror Show and Draughtsman's Contract [visible in equal measure - the dancers even do the Time Warp at one point]] and top class singing all round.
Nobody could pretend it's not a long evening, and that sometimes the fifth repetition of a da capo aria doesn't make you wish they'd just get on with it [no matter how inventive the reasons they come up with singing it just that one more time] but sometimes the music is just so blissful you want it to be repeated forever and ever.
It seems to have an odd structure - Alcina [sorceress ruling an island and turning lovers into rocks, lions etc. - the usual stuff] is vanquished by the end of Act 2, but after an interval, astonishingly it goes on and on, with the most stunning procession of exquisite and elegaic soprano arias you could possibly imagine. After a bit you just don't think your spine can do any more tingling, it gets quite worn out. It's more what you expect from Strauss than Handel.
I would reckon that this is the perfect production to see for somebody to see who is new to opera. People always think the right thing to do is to start with the corny old stuff like Carmen [lovely as it is], but something like this doesn't condescend - opera requires a bit of work on your part, and this is not exactly easy. In return, you get a clearly articulated [if daft] plot, an intelligent and superlatively pretty production which makes much play of the concept that the age of enlightenment might snuff out romance, drama and the things that make life worth living [a bit spurious, I think - Handel compsed these things at such a rate that any such idea seems tenouous, given the 18th century general worldview, although I will admit that the music bears it out] and operatic spectacle that would make any west end musical that you care to name look a bit feeble. To give you an example, the ENO chorus [40, 50 or so] come on for a brief number at the start, then are content to remain backstage quaffing gin and sandwiches for three hours , then re-appear for another number at the end. Ten mins of their time in total, and all at Equity basic rates.
As an added bonus, Alcina [ the statuesque Lisa Milne] has the most remarkable bosom I've ever seen. I don't necessarily mean this in any erotic way, it's just a gravity defying wonder and my opera glasses were rarely off it. Worth the price of admission alone.
throb
This is particularly beguiling - a spectacular production in a manner which although not exactly heritage would offend nobody [dazzling gilded set, which twirls and cavorts in a satisfying manner, sumptuous costumes by Sue Blane, who did both the Rocky Horror Show and Draughtsman's Contract [visible in equal measure - the dancers even do the Time Warp at one point]] and top class singing all round.
Nobody could pretend it's not a long evening, and that sometimes the fifth repetition of a da capo aria doesn't make you wish they'd just get on with it [no matter how inventive the reasons they come up with singing it just that one more time] but sometimes the music is just so blissful you want it to be repeated forever and ever.
It seems to have an odd structure - Alcina [sorceress ruling an island and turning lovers into rocks, lions etc. - the usual stuff] is vanquished by the end of Act 2, but after an interval, astonishingly it goes on and on, with the most stunning procession of exquisite and elegaic soprano arias you could possibly imagine. After a bit you just don't think your spine can do any more tingling, it gets quite worn out. It's more what you expect from Strauss than Handel.
I would reckon that this is the perfect production to see for somebody to see who is new to opera. People always think the right thing to do is to start with the corny old stuff like Carmen [lovely as it is], but something like this doesn't condescend - opera requires a bit of work on your part, and this is not exactly easy. In return, you get a clearly articulated [if daft] plot, an intelligent and superlatively pretty production which makes much play of the concept that the age of enlightenment might snuff out romance, drama and the things that make life worth living [a bit spurious, I think - Handel compsed these things at such a rate that any such idea seems tenouous, given the 18th century general worldview, although I will admit that the music bears it out] and operatic spectacle that would make any west end musical that you care to name look a bit feeble. To give you an example, the ENO chorus [40, 50 or so] come on for a brief number at the start, then are content to remain backstage quaffing gin and sandwiches for three hours , then re-appear for another number at the end. Ten mins of their time in total, and all at Equity basic rates.
As an added bonus, Alcina [ the statuesque Lisa Milne] has the most remarkable bosom I've ever seen. I don't necessarily mean this in any erotic way, it's just a gravity defying wonder and my opera glasses were rarely off it. Worth the price of admission alone.
throb