Gazzaniga: Alcina’s Island – Inna Husieva – Bampton Classical Opera (Picture: Anthony Corridor/Bampton Classical Opera) |
Gazzaniga: L’Isole d’Alcina (Alcina’s Island); Inna Husieva, Sarah Chae, Charlotte Badham, Dafydd Allen, Monwabisi Lindi, Jonathan Eyers, Magnus Walker, Owain Rowlands, director Jeremy Grey, Chroma, conductor Thomas Blunt; Bampton Classical Opera at Smith Sq. Corridor
Reviewed 13 September 2024
A comic book tackle Alcina with an opera that doesn’t take itself too significantly in an enticing efficiency that showcased Inna Husieva’s charmer of a sorceress
Final week we caught Vache Baroque in Pergolesi’s 1736 opera, L’Olimpiade [see my review] with a libretto by Metastasio that wishes to be severe and contemplate ethical issues however makes use of dramaturgical infelicities that imply that trendy audiences have issue taking the work’s decision significantly.
Then this week, Bampton Classical Opera introduced their manufacturing of Gazzaniga’s L’Isole d’Alcina (Alcina’s Island) to London. Written in 1771 and premiered in Venice, Giovanni Bertati’s libretto doesn’t take opera seria too significantly. It begins just like the basic joke, an Englishman, a Frenchman, an Italian and a Spaniard are washed up on a desert island. Not any previous island, however Alcina’s island, but the time interval is modern and the 4 males (later 5) are effectively conscious of Alcina and her story, instructed in Ariosto. The result’s a pleasant comedian operatic romp.
On Friday 13 Setpember 2024, Bampton Classical Opera offered Gazzaniga’s Alcina’s Island at Smith Sq. Corridor (St John’s Smith Sq.) in a manufacturing directed and designed by Jeremy Grey with Thomas Blunt conducting Chroma, with Inna Husieva, Sarah Chae, Charlotte Badham, Dafydd Allen, Monwabisi Lindi, Jonathan Eyers, Magnus Walker and Owain Rowlands.
Gazzaniga: Alcina’s Island – Magnus Walker, Monwabisi Lindi, Jonathan Eyers – Bampton Classical Opera (Picture: Anthony Corridor/Bampton Classical Opera) |
If the identify of Giuseppe Gazzaniga appears acquainted, that’s as a result of he and Giovanni Bertati wrote Don Giovanni in 1787, which was plagiarised by Da Ponte for Mozart! Gazzaniga’s L’Isole d’Alcina was premiered in Venice on the Teatro San Moise, the place Bertati was principal comedian librettist. The theatre’s first opera manufacturing was Monteverdi’s Arianna in 1640 and its remaining productions had been a collection of farse by Rossini.
Bampton carried out Gazzaniga’s L’Isole d’Alcina in Gilly French’s English translation as Alcina’s Island. Jeremy Grey’s mounted setting displayed tempting tropical island views with wealthy vegetation, a solar lounger and two stone animals (Alcina’s earlier lovers). The libretto doesn’t take the nationalities of the boys too significantly, they had been merely causes for humour so the Spaniard is flamboyant, the Englishman is uptight and far is fabricated from the German being unable to talk Italian (right here he couldn’t converse English). Grey didn’t take them too significantly both with every man kitted out in garments that clearly indicated his nationality.
So, because the opera opened Dafydd Allen’s La Rose, Monwabisis Lindi’s Brunoro, Jonathan Eyers’ Don Lopes and Magnus Walker’s James clambered onto the island the place they first encountered Alcina’s attendants, Sarah Chae as Lesbia and Charlotte Badham as Clizia, after which Alcina herself, Inna Husieva. Act One was primarily taken up with the boys vowing to not fall in love with Alcina after which doing so, together with consuming from the fountain of forgetfulness (right here a cocktail bar). La Rose (Dafydd Allen) drinks an excessive amount of and collapses and desires reviving with a track, which results in a finale with a weird Eurovision Track Contest kind of really feel – gained by Alcina (Inna Husieva) singing in Venetian dialect!
Gazzaniga: Alcina’s Island – Sarah Chae, Monwabisi Lindi, Charlotte Badham – Bampton Classical Opera (Picture: Anthony Corridor/Bampton Classical Opera) |
Through the second act, Husieva’s Alcina flirts with all the boys, and chooses a favorite. However a fifth man is washed up, Brikbrak (Owain Rowlands), a German whose dialog is dangerous English larded with German and many feedback about not following the language. The 2 attendants (Chae and Badham) take him to 1 facet and defend him from Alcina’s magic. Issues begin to go badly for Husieva’s Alcina because the Frenchman is satisfied he has a rival and plots revenge, while Rowlands’ Brikbrak cuts off a lock of her hair to curtail her energy. The opera ends with the boys and the attendants getting ready to go away the island because the rescue ship seems, however Alcina threatens to unleash her dragons. The result’s a curious cliffhanger, neither completely happy nor tragic, as much as us to determine.
The outcome was terrific enjoyable, ever fairly taking itself significantly however giving the music all of the care it deserved. Gazzaniga’s rating was definitely not with out curiosity, it zipped alongside at a pleasant tempo and arias had been typically fairly brief, but not with out technical issue. Curiously, the boys had been launched to us initially with a pair of quartets, and every character solely actually obtained a single foremost aria.
Gazzaniga: Alcina’s Island – Owain Rowlands, Sarah Chae Bampton Classical Opera (Picture: Anthony Corridor/Bampton Classical Opera) |
The main focus was inevitably on Inna Husieva’s Alcina, although like most divas her entrance got here fairly late in Act One. Husieva was a whole delight, rocking a collection of outrageous outfits and singing with great creamy tone and excellent sense of line, but fantastic English diction. Greater than that, she incarnated the attractive vamp all through the opera and watching her eat a banana (sure, like that) was an outstanding second. When the going obtained robust later within the opera, Husieva introduced a touching component to Alcina, but went out in a blaze of glory on the finish.
As her attendants, Sarah Chae and Charlotte Badham made a profitable double act, each filled with vigorous attraction. Every obtained an aria to point out off, however actually it was their sense of ensemble and bonhomie that came to visit. One other full delight.
The 5 males clearly had nice enjoyable with overdoing the nationwide traits (and keep in mind that the Spaniard was performed by a New Zealander, the Italian by a South African, the Frenchman and the German by a Welshmen). Dafydd Allen was all around the prime drama as Frenchman La Rose, explicit within the part the place he will get jealous. Monwabisi Lindi confirmed vigorous attraction because the Italian Brunoro, while Jonathan Eyers was a splendidly excessive Spaniard, Don Lopes. Magnus Walker was the uptight Englishman, James. Owain Rowlands introduced off the tough job making Brikbrak’s mash-up of German and English humorous.
Recitatives rattled alongside properly. This was a type of comedian dramas that knew to not go on too lengthy, although within the tough corridor acoustic the English translation didn’t at all times come over effectively. Positioned behind the singers, Thomas Blunt and Chroma made a fantastic contribution and there have been loads of little touches to take pleasure in in Gazzaniga’s writing, with the orchestra together with oboes and horns.
Having seen loads of productions of Handel’s Alcina the place the drama is just not taken significantly, it was a pleasure to come back throughout such an engagingly involving account of an 18th century opera the place the drama was not taken significantly, however as ever with Bampton, the music was.
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