|
|
 |
|
Music
by
W.
A. Mozart
Directed
by
David MacVicar
Conducted
by
Roland Boer
Designed
by
Yannis Thavoris
Lighting
by
Paule Constable
Choreography
by
Leah Hausman
Tito
Paul Nilon
Vitellia
Emma Bell
Sesto
Sarah Connolly
Annio
Stephanie
Marshall
Servilia
Sally Matthews
Publio
Neal Davies
|
|
| |
|
|
|
London
Coliseum
5
February - 4 March 2005 |
|
Among
so many things to praise in
this striking production,
the first in logical order
of mention is the taut, sparse
staging, beautifully aided
by a stage design and a rich
palette of lighting techniques
that focus the drama and keep
the principals to the fore
- physically, at the front
of the stage throughout; but
psychologically too, with
the intensity and clarity
of a Greek tragedy. The chorus
remains off-stage; a choreographed
group of soldiers armed with
long staves form patterns
around the principals at certain
points in the drama, adding
by means of the geometry of
their pointed staves the unrelenting
focus on the web of love,
betrayal, anguish, and mercy
which is the argument of the
piece.
In a production of this stark
power the music is able to
reveal itself fully. Forget
the doubts and questions about
the haste of composition,
the relative simplicity of
orchestration, the suggestion
that the recitatives were
left to a hand not Mozart's:
this is an opera whose music
is quintessence of Mozart
in its melodic shape and harmonic
colour, and it is wonderfully
served by this cast, who rise
to the fact that there are
long, significant soliloquies
here, and agonising interactions
between the principals - chiefly,
between Sesto and Vitellia,
and between Sesto and Tito.
It has always been the case
that some critics have found
the scoring for four sopranos,
one tenor and one bass a problem,
given the two travesti roles
required to distinguish Tito
from Sesto and Annio. Had
Mozart lived he would have
made Sesto a tenor role, but
in its way it is a happy accident
that the opera has remained
as it is - for one thing,
the contrast of tessitura
works very well when this
well staged, and for another
it provides opportunities
for sopranos to explore the
theatrical opportunities of
exploring a different dynamic
in soprano duets - as in the
important first act interchange
between Sesto and Vitellia.
There was nothing to fault
and everything to praise in
the vigorous, convincing,
sustained work of all the
principals, and the excellent
playing of the ENO orchestra
under Roland Boer's baton.
Emma Bell's Vitellia, as the
driver of the disturbing forces
that test Tito's clemency,
was spirited and compelling.
Sarah Connolly's Sesto had
all the helpless passion and
tumult of soul that is pivotal
to the part. And Paul Nilon's
Tito was sung with fine clarity
and nobility, making both
man and emperor come fully
alive in his struggle between
justice and mercy. Between
them they made this a Clemenza
to remember with admiration.
AC
Grayling |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
