Subject: Doppio Orfeo (Gluck/ENO, Monteverdi/Kent Opera) I managed to take in productions of the two great Orpheus operas in London this week -- Gluck's Orpheus at the ENO, and Monteverdi's Orfeo, performed by Kent Opera at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Gluck/ENO: Orpheus Michael Chance Eurydice Lesley Garrett Amor Helen Williams Dancers, Chorus Conductor Jane Glover Director Martha Clarke Set Designer John Conklin Lighting Designer Paul Pyant The production previously appeared at the Edinburgh Festival last year, where it was generally poorly reviewed. I know the work only through the Decca Kathleen Ferrier compilation, which is hacked about and pretty poor in every way except for Ferrier's voice. I found that the ENO production made a lot of sense and certainly left me with the impression of a very great work indeed, in a problematic performance. The performance used a single set, consisting of the low-lying ruins of a spiral structure, with back projected images, all in dark neutrals that were altered by very effective lighting. The costumes were mainly army surplus looking overcoats, with Michael Chance as Orpheus getting a better cut one and a suit and tie, which made him look as though he'd come on in his street clothes. Except in the last act, the chorus sang from the stage boxes. Eight dancers performed the chorus' role of expressing the feelings of the community, as well as impersonating the furies, souls in torment and (spirti ignudi) souls in Elysian bliss. The movement was purely expressive, not dance in any conventional sense, and what you make of the production probably depends on how you respond to this. Personally, I found the first act quite effective, possibly because it reminded me of long-ago drama workshops exploring grief and mourning. But in general, what the dancers did related to the music only in the broadest thematic way. In particular, the skittering around and hugging at the end looked happy enough but failed totally to reflect the mood of re-integration in the music. Psychologically, though, a lot of this production worked by bringing out the strong emotional colours in the music and text. The main problem it had in doing this was, unfortunately, in Michael Chance's Orpheus. His singing is amazing -- bright, strong and accurate -- but totally lacking (to me) in expression, and his acting is about the same. He looks right for an eighteenth century poet, and has a lot of stage presence. But this isn't enough to carry such a dramatically demanding role. (He did have the odd rough moment at the top in Che faro. Here's hoping he's not going to succumb to the curse of the Coliseum, the great gobbler of counter tenors.) Lesley Garrett, however, was spot on and very moving as Eurydice. Monteverdi: Orfeo Gwion Thomas Music Terrance Barber Euridice Rachel Wheatley Messenger Clara Sanabras Hope Juliet Schiemann Prosperina Esther King Pluto Martin Robson Charon Paul Grier Apollo Jonathon Arnold with Nicki Kennedy, Clara Sanabras, Wills Morgan, Tom Phillips, Michael Jamieson Smith Conductor John Toll Director Tim Carroll Designer Roger Butlin I included the names of the full cast, because they are paid peanuts and deserve all the credit they can get. Kent Opera runs on a shoestring after the Arts Council withdrew their grant in 1989. To judge from this, they are still a serious regional company though this wasn't a production to frighten the horses. The costumes were standard renaissance-classical, and the set was what I think is the standard renaissance stage, an apron with a sort of house at the back, where singers can enter from a door at stage level or appear on the upper level. The singers provided the various choruses and movement, mainly forming statueque groups or doing conventional dances. It was certainly interesting seeing this three nights after I saw Gluck's Orpheus. Monteverdi's Orfeo is rhetorical where Gluck's is dramatic, and initially I felt there was something missing. (I cringed quietly when I realised that the character Hope was there purely for Orpheus to abandon when he got to the gate of hell. They had "Lasciate ogni speranza" written on the stage as well. Though the worst thing about Hope was the two electric candles on her swimming hat.) But of course, this is really pure entertainment, and it's not useful to compare the two. And the music is highly enjoyable. The singers were all quite young except Gwion Thomas as Orfeo. His voice seemed to me to be simply wrong for this music -- he was three times as loud as anyone else, and would have been quite at home in a Broadway musical. Terrance Barber as Music had very little music and a very small voice indeed. The rest of the cast were a few degrees either side of fine, with Rachel Wheatley pretty impressive as Eurydice and Esther King quite powerful as Prosperina. It's good to see Kent Opera back in business. In the past they specialized in early and contemporary opera, and this was probably quite a good choice to take on tour: reasonably accessible for everyone, with enough jollity and humour, but rarely enough done to be worth bringing to London. Though the QEH audience seemed to consist largely of people who wanted to support Kent Opera and friends of the cast.