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New Devon Opera 2010 – Verdi, La Traviata: (In English) Soloists, New Devon Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Paul Foster (conductor) Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh, Devon UK, 24.7.2010 (BK)

Production Team:
Direction, Lighting and Set Design: Martyn Harrison
Production / Stage Management: Graham Wood
Costumes: Tony Brett ( The Costume Store, Essex)
Conductor: Dr. Paul Foster
Company Repetiteur: Philip Voldman

English Translation : Joseph Machlis
Venue: The Courtyard at Ugbrooke House (by courtesy of Lord and Lady Clifford)

Cast:
Violetta Valéry - Sarah Helsby Hughes
Flora Bervoix – Helen Haviland
Annina - Lindy Stephens
Alfredo Germont - Ben Kerslake
Giorgio Germont - Bruce Graham
Baron Douphol – Roderick Hunt

Marquis d’Obigny – Andrew Massochi
Dr. Grenvil – Gareth Davies
Gastone de Letorières – Simon Marsh

Giuseppe – Matthew Straw
Messenger – Simon Grimshaw
A Partygoer - Paul Chandler

Flora's Party - Act III

Among the many summer pleasures in England, country house opera  has long been a favourite. One of the best is at Garsington Manor in Oxfordshire - although the opera festival moves to a new home after 21 seasons there in 2011 – but we also have Ugbrooke House in Devon, which hosts New Devon Opera for two days every July. While New Devon Opera’s productions are more limited than Garsington’s – they offer only one opera a year with less elaborate sets and fewer performances – both venues are feasts for the senses. Each has an idyllic setting, where small scale productions - with limited audiences to match - come complete with extended intervals for picnics and champagne. Add in a warm(ish) evening and some moonlight as the audience departs maybe, and you have  opera at its most romantic. If the opera’s  good of course, which it very often is.

Last month, Garsington’s Midsummer Night’s Dream (see review) had all these ingredients in exactly the right proportions and so did New Devon Opera on Saturday, even if the moonlight was in shorter supply. Last year’s NDO La Bohème had impressed me, partly for its energy and freshness but also for the sadly too rare yet important quality of genuine good nature that pervaded every aspect of it. I wrote at the time… ‘In its own, and very distinctive way, this production provided a redefinition of the much over-used tag world class opera.’ I meant all of that and still do.

 

L-R Flora (Helen Haviland) and Violetta (Sarah Helsby Hughes)

How heartening then, to discover that metaphorical lightning can strike the same place twice, because this year’s Traviata is another definite winner. A good part of its charm stems from Martyn Harrison’s production which is simplicity itself, but as fine a demonstration of elegant simplicity as any. Because New Devon Opera tours several other venues as well as playing in the Ugbrooke House courtyard, the performing area for productions is extraordinarily small, probably no more than 20 feet or so wide by about 12 feet deep. Into this, Martyn Harrison crammed not only the principals but a 23 member chorus,  with never an error to be seen. The stage was amazingly crowded with everyone on it but there were no awkward moments at any point: everyone was in place at every turn; or if they weren’t then the errors were artfully concealed. But Mr Harrison’s skills go further, because the acting displayed by the company was very carefully nuanced and remarkably expressive: of the many Traviatas I’ve seen, this was the first time I could recall seeing (or hearing) a chorus genuinely angry at Alfredo’s behaviour during Flora’s party, yet while obviously enjoying themselves no end.

The NDO chorus is an impressive body of professional and amateur singers, including a few who don’t read music and whoever it is that trains them deserves several medals: presumably repetiteur Philip Voldman and conductor Paul Foster were responsible, since the programme lists no-one else. From the front row of the Ugbrooke courtyard’s seating, every individual voice is exposed - a nerve racking problem for most amateurs - but the ensemble was excellent, not to mention the diction, and the sheer volume of nicely controlled sound these singers produce would be a credit to any fully professional group. Gareth Malone – the BBC’s current expert at turning non-singing individuals into choirs – would surely have jumped at the chance of working with them.

The soloists this year were more experienced than I remember from La Bohème and certainly some were  older. Singing in the courtyard's roofless space is  problematic, especially since sounds bounce off the surrounding walls, but there were fine performances from the principals and from the chorus members singing comprimario roles.

Sarah Helsby Hughes’ Violetta was persuasively passionate yet dignified throughout, a fine portrait of the doomed lover gracefully putting honour before self interest. Her ‘Sempre libera’ was joyful and delivered with marvellous panache but it was her mezza voce singing that will stay with me. Her ability to float high quiet notes perfectly in the final scene was genuinely memorable. Ben Kerslake’s Alfredo was ardently convincing and after a short period of settling down to the courtyard’s acoustic, he produced splendid singing for the Brindisi and for the rest of the performance.  He looks the part too and was particularly impressive during the card game: Douphol - sonorously presented by Roderick Hunt’s powerful bass -had every reason to be nervous of him.

As Germont père, Bruce Graham  sang rather too loudly some of the time – at least from where I was sitting – but he delivered a fine and expressive baritone and acted his change of heart towards Violetta with thoughtful conviction. Lindy Stephens sang Annina with sweet-voiced purity of tone and acted the role of devoted servant exceptionally convincingly. Helen Haviland’s Flora combined dignity with playfulness nicely and she sang her admittedly small role with accuracy and charm. Gareth Davies who played Dr. Grenvil, had a beautiful bass baritone, which it would be good to hear again in a larger role.

Almost last, but no manner of means least, Paul Foster’s direction of his nineteen piece professional orchestra and the singers, was once again the lynch-pin of this exceptionally musical performance. What the players manage to achieve with such reduced forces is nothing else than remarkable especially when  it comes to  supporting the singers. Balance is invariably excellent between orchestra and stage and Paul Foster’s cues for the singers are not only crystal clear but are invariably helpful, something not always the case even in large opera houses.

Finally, and to misquote Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novel Unseen Academicals,  a version of the Romeo and Juliet story told through the medium of rival football teams, ‘The thing about New Devon Opera, the important thing about New Devon Opera, is that it isn’t just about opera………’

No, it isn't. Signing up to work with New Devon Opera is actually about being deeply human because nobody involved with this company is there from pure self-interest. This is a team that works together for the important common purpose of raising real enthusiasm for their art and while they’re doing that, the team members, which include Lord and Lady Clifford who offer the use of their home without charge, also raise money for the Deaf-Blind Charity SENSE, making a substantial donation to it from the Ugbrooke performances.

Next year’s production is Carmen. Getting Escamillo's horse on stage will certainly be a challenge for Martyn Harrison and  Stage Manager Graham Wood, but I'm sure that they'll turn out something interesting.

Bill Kenny

Pictures © New Devon Opera / Graham Wood (Redrose Studios)

The New Devon Opera website is Here

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