This production is typical of the styles of both the
ENO and the director, Deborah Warner, in that it concentrates on the
interactions between characters as presented in the music, and that
it arouses strong emotions on opposing sides. There are many who either
will not attend such a piece out of principle, and they are probably
the same people who booed with outrage at some of the images in her
Glyndebourne 'Don Giovanni;' there are likewise many who will be deeply
moved by it, and these are likely to be the same people who were fascinated
by her management of the individual characters in that production. I
am one of those who were thrilled by the 'Don Giovanni' so it's not
surprising that I was deeply moved by this 'St. John Passion.'
One basic element is surely that, however you present
it, this great work will never fail to move, and will survive whatever
is done to it; is it possible for anyone with a grain of human feeling
to remain dry-eyed at such moments as 'Weib, siehe, das ist dein Sohn!
/ Siehe, das ist deine Mutter!'? I don't think so, and that has to be
part of the production's success; you just can't go wrong with it, so
the mere fact that it's being staged like this is in itself a positive
thing. Warner does not put a foot wrong, and neither does anyone on
stage, the only awkwardness arising from the laudable notion of encouraging
the audience to join in with some of the chorales; if this is going
to happen, then the management needs to arrange for everyone to have
a song sheet, since distributing them to selected individuals is not
going to do the trick, the ability to sing or simply just to 'join in'
something not being externally evident! I do not know the words in English,
so sat mutely during 'Wer hat dich so geschlagen' until I realised that
so few others were uttering a cheep that I might as well just sing the
next two in German anyway, so I droned away during 'Christus, der uns
selig macht' and 'Ach Herr, lass dein lieb' Engelein' and observed that
I was not the only one doing so.
The chorales were sung most movingly by a Community
Chorus, stationed in the stage boxes, and the auditorium was lit throughout,
making for a real sense of corporate effort. The stage setting was starkly
simple, mainly based upon pinpoints of light from hundreds of suspended
bulbs at the beginning and end, and a long table / bench which served
a s a multiple prop. There was evocative use of film images as a backdrop,
especially the close-up of a bleeding face, and the cross was massively
present in the guise of an immense wooden pole. Beyond that, bunches
of flowers provided splashes of colour during the last scene, and then
there was the Lamb - but more of that later. Costumes were muted, everyday
- wear in style, and the whole gave the feeling of the kind of enterprise
which must once have been so common when the Miracle Plays were first
performed.
The singing was of the very highest quality from start
to finish, and the management of the arias as integrated parts of the
drama was brilliantly achieved. Mark Padmore is not a tenor to whom
I have ever warmed as the Evangelist in 'normal' performances of the
Passions; his voice is too white for my liking, and to me he does not
make enough of the searingly emotional and dramatic moments in the St.
John, such as the scourging, but here he did impress with his clarity
of diction, his absolutely beautiful singing and his natural, unaffected
acting. If ever a singer was well chosen for a role in a production,
then this tenor was for this one; this Evangelist is not a dispassionate
narrator but a deeply emotional disciple, and Padmore lives it to perfection.
His sensitive, mobile face always makes him look as though he is just
about to burst into tears - when he sings 'Comfort Ye,' I always think
he really means 'Comfort Me,' and so it was here.
Jesus (Paul Whelan) and Pilate (David Kempster) were
no less impressively taken; these were performances of real stature,
with many searing moments such as that wonderful confrontation beginning
'Bist du der Jüden König? Their absolute commitment was a
joy to see, and Whelan's 'Siehe, das ist deine Mutter!' will stay with
me for a long time: directed with moving simplicity and wonderful sense
of dignity, such moments are what make music theatre live.
The solo singers were no less impressive, Gillian
Keith's soprano being especially noteworthy. This lovely young singer
was making her ENO debut; she won the 2000 Kathleen Ferrier award, and
this will have surprised no one, for her voice is genuinely beautiful
and used with grace and fluency, and she made perfect sense of her youthful,
impetuous 'character' within the overall concept. Catherine Wyn - Rogers
never ceases to delight me; with every performance, her diction is the
clearest on stage, her musicality gives the most absolute pleasure,
and her singing is a model of perfect style and moving communicativeness;
'Es ist Vollbracht' was as finely sung as I have ever heard it. She
acknowledges the fact that she continues to study with Diane Forlano,
and it shows. Barry Banks sang sweetly and accurately in his taxing
arias, and the very young James Rutherford made an impressive debut
in the bass solos; his voice is very beautiful indeed, and he brought
Quasthoff to mind in his singing of 'Mein teurer Heiland,' especially
in the moving quality of his intonation.
Stephen Layton, well known to London audiences for
his always sold - out performances with Polyphony, directed the chamber
orchestra with flair and vigour, tenderly shaping the accompaniments
to the arias and whipping the players into real fervour in the more
dramatic moments.
And that much - disputed ending? I can understand
the objections, but on this occasion it worked perfectly, with not a
snigger in the house, and not many dry eyes, either; as stage and audience
are united in that final, heartbreaking chorale, a lamb is placed in
the arms of the Evangelist, who then seems to offer it to us. Never
work with animals or children, they say, but whoever coached Padmore
in how to stand clutching a lamb, front centre stage, his eyes absolutely
brimming over, certainly knew what they were doing. With the assembled
company brightly lit by all those tiny bulbs, the stage strewn with
spring flowers, it forms a stage picture that is as powerful and moving
as anything to be seen today. Wonderful: go, but tuck a hanky in your
pocket, and make sure you pick up a song sheet.
Melanie Eskenazi
Return to:
Music on the Web