English National Opera

Saturday 23rd February

When English National Opera decided to revive their celebrated production of The Mikado this season, they might not have known they were going to have some competition. The Carl Rosa Company were performing the same opera not far away at the Gielgud Theatre. I didn’t see the Carl Rosa Mikado, so I can’t make proper comparisons. But, if the Carl Rosa production was anything like their Pirates of Penzance, I’d say the ENO offered superior musicianship, but Carl Rosa’s emphasis was far more strongly on giving the audience a good time.

The ENO certainly lost out as far as diction was concerned. The words struggled to make their way clearly to the heights of the Coliseum’s top level, and, for once, the surtitles were little help. Revival lighting director Martin Doone made the stage so bright, it was almost impossible to read them.

Ko-Ko’s ‘Little List’ did not have surtitles - so all credit to the wonderfully amusing Richard Suart, who writes his own lists (and has written a book about the song’s history), for making so many of the words clear – whenever I did miss a line, this was mostly because other members of the audience were still laughing at the previous witticism. Suart’s victims included Nigella Lawson, Marks & Spencers and those very annoying people who scream ‘FREE LITE’ you’re your ear before shoving a newspaper in your face and narrowly avoiding taking your eye out. The hugely impressive amateur singer Paul Potts – or, rather, the embarrassingly bad professional singer Paul Potts, as we should now term him - is on the List as well, along with Richard Branson (‘his Virgin’s still intact’) and Facebook, with whom the Royal Opera has an account. Some excellent choices there.

Lovers Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum were performed by two of our greatest young British singers, Robert Murray, a former Jette Parker Young Artist at the ROH, and Sarah Tynan, who was member of ENO Jerwood Young Singers’ Programme. Tynan’s sweet light soprano is ideal, and she actually makes Yum-Yum likeable – quite a feat considering the character considers herself the most beautiful person in the world, and (shockingly, for an operatic heroine) is not prepared to die for her beloved. Murray sang beautifully, but his pronounced vibrato, whilst lovely in the Mozart roles in which he particularly excels, somehow clouded his usually excellent diction. Murray’s coming timing was impeccable, as ever.

There was also much to enjoy in Frances McCafferty’s terrifying but not unloveable Katisha, a very fine singer with formidable low notes, and Graeme Danby’s comic brilliance made me wish that his character, Pooh-Bah, was in every scene. Anna Grevelius (ENO’s brilliant Nerone L’incoronazione di Poppea) was, for the most part, underpowered as Pitti-Sing, but was the star in the madrigal section – and, by all accounts, she was excellent throughout on opening night.

There was a lot to enjoy in this performance, but somehow, it all seemed a bit slow – and the orchestra, led by Wyn Davies, lacked a certain spark. Maybe the dazzlingly-bright stage was exhausting to look at; maybe this production has been done too many times recently. Maybe watching a dramatically perfect Pirates of Penzance the night before had raised my expectations too much. But something was missing.

Cunning Little Vixen

primi-divi at hotmail.co.uk