Primi Divi

English National Opera

27th June 2008

Maybe the ENO should keep away from musicals. On the Town was excellent, but, with a mostly musical rather than operatic cast, it barely counted as an opera production at all. Kismet wasn’t as bad as people said, but the fact that I was pretty much the only person who liked it shows it wasn’t exactly successful. As for Candide, what can I say? I’m not Hairy McMungo, but ‘can I have a refund?’ springs to mind.

Robert Carsen’s production was well-thought out, and the gimmicks were mostly understandable to most people. Let’s ignore the fact I thought it was cringe-makingly awful. Most people found it very amusing, and Michael Levine’s designs did manage to convey quite a lot. I liked the way the stage was turned into a TV set. Conductor Ruman Gumba was excellent – the ENO orchestra played well, and occasionally managed to get some real meaning out of the music, even though most of it is total fluff.

There wasn’t any really bad singing. Actor Alex Jennings, in the multiple roles of Voltaire, Dr Pangloss, and the miserable Martin was easily up to the standards of the operatically-trained performers, and completely showed them up when it came to the comedy. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that a trained actor is so much better at comedy than opera singers, but I wouldn’t have expected the difference to be that great – particularly as several members of the cast are usually brilliant at comedy The only funny thing about the opera singers’ performance was the glaring contrast between Jennings’ effortlessly smooth, polished performance, and the ridiculousness everywhere else.

Beverley Klein was possibly the weakest singer in the stage, but she invested the Old Lady with so much character, it was difficult not to enjoy her performance - although there were times when I wished her diction wasn’t quite so good, as some of the most disgusting lines in the libretto happened to be hers. I don’t know how she managed to get any humour from those moments at all. She also looks great in a sparkly leotard – despite her character’s only having one buttock.

The title role was sung by Toby Spence, who sang beautifully, and even made Candide vaguely interesting and likeable. But it was hard not to lose patience for his continuing devotion to Anna Christy’s slut of a Cunegonde, who can’t even go through Immigration without being unfaithful. Christy’s performance was wholehearted, impressively sung, and she looked beautiful in all her costumes, which seemed to grow skimpier in every scene. But I couldn’t stand Cunegonde as a person. You can be unfaithful and yet rather adorable – like Valencienne in The Merry Widow. You can also be utterly disreputable, yet with a sensual and magnetic charm – like Carmen. But Cunegonde, promiscuous, vain, shallow, disloyal and cruel, has nothing to recommend her.

There was also some strong singing from Mark Stone as Cunegonde’s brother Maximilian – Stone also played Christy’s brother when she made her ENO debut as Lucia di Lammermoor. I look forward to seeing them Marguerite and Valentin or Manon and Lescaut. As Pacquette, ENO Young Singer Mairéad Buicke spent most of her time onstage being groped or dressed up as a bunny girl, but seemed completely unfazed, and sang beautifully. The first time I saw her I said she wasn’t suited to the lighter repertoire. I was wrong: she’s actually suited to it very well.

But there is more to the opera than the singing, and it’s difficult to enjoy even that when such horrible things are going on all the time. There’s much too much death, mutilation, prostitution… I know this kind of thing goes on in the world, but it’s not something I want to pay to watch. The whole opera seemed to be about nasty people cheating other nasty people, and telling gruesome stories along the way with the occasional frothy song. The ENO can do so much better. Forget the musicals. Why can’t we see The Carmelites, King Arthur, Lucia di Lammermoor, Eugene Onegin, The Fairy Queen, The Silver Tassie, Gaddafi or Alcina again?

Cunning Little Vixen

primi-divi at hotmail.co.uk