English Touring Opera in Exeter: Carissimi Jepthe, Purcell Dido and Aeneas and Monteverdi Orfeo, Northcott Theatre, Exeter UK 26-28. 10. 2006 (BK)

 

 

 

Carissimi's Jepthe

 

The first of ETO's two annual visits to Exeter for this season brought the company's eagerly awaited Autumn Baroque Tour to the South West. An impressive series of relative rarities combined a double bill of Jephte and Dido and Aeneas with performances of Monteverdi's Orfeo, Handel's Tolomeo and Cavalli's Erismena as well as offering a workshop on baroque singing for amateurs, and a session of bawdy ballads performed in a local pub.

All of the opera performances shared Michael Vale's basic wooden box set (bare walls, lots of doors and movable wooden platforms) which was flexible enough to be rearranged by the singers as each work proceeded. When coupled with excellent lighting plots and a few minimalist props, this simple design provided an effective solution to the problems caused by the cramped spaces in which the company usually works.

The perennial difficulty of deciding on which work most neatly complements Dido and Aeneas was ingeniously solved by pairing Purcell's miniature gem with Carissimi's oratorio Jephte, sung in Latin and only twenty minutes long. The story (also used in Handel's oratorio Jephtha) comes from the Old Testament, in Judges Chapter 11. Jephtha leads his people in battle against the Ammonites, secretly vowing that if God allows him victory over his enemies, then 'whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.' Jephtha's victory is secured and when his daughter turns out to be the first living thing he sees on returning home, she is bound by her father's vow but accepts her death willingly.

 

Using only eight singers for all the solo roles and the choruses brought a welcome transparency to this attractive music and ensured that ensemble was carefully maintained throughout. Baritone David Stout made a strong and stricken Jephte and countertenor Iestyn Morris sang particularly well as Historicus. Jane Harrington as Filia, delivered a heartfelt and extremely moving closing solo.

 

 

 

Joana Thome as Dido

The same eight singers were joined by Argentinian mezzo Joana Thome (Dido) for Dido and Aeneas. Director Helen Eastman provided a spare but effective setting which featured no props at all other than some piles of costumes at the back of the set which were used by the cast and chorus as they changed roles from being commentators to participants in the drama. Most of the costumes were modern but both Aeneas and Dido appeared in seventeenth century dress to emphasise the action in Dido's court. In the sorceress's scenes, the cast wore a variety of grotesque outfits and masks which clearly pointed up the contrasts between the court scenes and the kingdom of dark magic. When coupled with the excellent lighting plot, these simple devices made for a visually arresting presentation which worked very well indeed.

 

The small cast sang all of the the ensembles besides providing the solo roles; Jane Harrington made a caring and sympathetic Belinda, Patricia Orr was a powerful and dramatic Sorceress and Iestyn Morris was still in fine voice as the Spirit. As Aeneas, David Stout was solemn yet wholly dignified and Joan Thome's sensitive Dido was deeply moving even though she seemed troubled by English pronunciation during, 'When I am laid in earth.'

The exceptionally skillful pairing of the these works created an oustanding performance in which Matthew Halls and his small baroque band provided an admirable period sound which supported the singers faultlessly.

 

 

Hal Cazalet as Orfeo

 

Following up his success in presenting The Cunning Little Vixen in 2004 as the portrayal of a community staging a folk play(review) James Conway has used a similar strategy to produce Monteverdi's Orfeo. In Mr. Conway's view, Orpheus’ journey into the underworld to retrieve Eurydice can be thought of a shamanic initiation but for reasons best known to himself, he has a group of people dressed as modern day hippies re-enact it within a bleak and barren landscape. It's all a little odd, especially at the end after Apollo invites the unsuccessful Orpheus to join him on Olympus. Then, the elected hero’s collaborators in the enactment put him to death by stoning, and a bare tree at the back of the stage sprouts the same green gloves which had earlier represented Orpheus's lute. Quite what Mr. Conway has in mind with this production - he seems to have confused a shaman's journey of self-discovery with a representation of the 'King for a Day' rituals mentioned in Frazer's Golden Bough - remains unclear even though he says that he is paying homage to an alternative ending to Monteverdi's 1607 scenario in which Orpheus is torn apart by the Maenads.

This was the final night of ETO's Exeter season and it felt as though both the hard worked singers and the orchestra had found the week tiring. The ETO's baroque band was joined by the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble under Robert Howarth’s direction and while there was still a good deal of spritely playing to be heard in the dance music, there was also an amount of uneven tuning in the prologue which returned to plague the sound at regular intervals afterwards.

 

The singing was a little uneven too. Hal Cazalet was generally powerful enough to do justice to Orfeo, but seemed never to be quite on his best form. Katherine Manley (as Eurydice) sang clearly and both Joana Thome as the Messenger/Prosperina and David Stout (Pluto) impressed yet again. The performance lacked the energy that was evident two nights earlier however, and I came away feeling that ETO's entirely laudable vision for this series had overstretched its resources slightly.

 

Bill Kenny

 

Pictures © English Touring Opera