Once back in the UK my first live musical event was in mid-November – Opera North’s Giulio Cesare, at the Lowry. Trying to remember it 14.5 months later, the main things that stick in the mind are the excellence of the singers and the sheer fertility, variety and inventiveness of the musical numbers – almost like ’The Messiah’, every number is a ‘hit’ and a joy to listen to. I think I saw Swedish contralto Maria Sanner as Cesare and, without being Janet Baker (and I have an MP3 of JB singing extracts from this from the ENO production in the 80’s), was impressive and varied in her tones, as well as having the necessary dexterity of voice, if that’s the right word. Coloratura soprano Lucie Chartin was Cleopatra, and she, I recall, was a star, her arias delivered with power and precision. The others I don’t recall so well, nor do I remember much about the production
I had to be in London for a week at the end of November 2019 and rather gluttonously (and also anti-socially, given that I was meant to be with a group of other people debriefing on Palestine), I went to three operas in a row – Gluck’s Orpheus, Glass’ Orphee and Death in Venice Glass’ Orphee was I recall quite a good evening but to be frank 14.5 months later I have almost totally forgotten what it was about or the details of the impact it made. Gluck’s Orpheus was more memorable – some excellent singing from Alice Coote and Sarah Tynan and above all the dance work / direction of Wayne McGregor, which made for some very striking images on stage. Having said that, it is rather a stationary work – classical unities, I suppose – and the music with the obvious exception not that memorable. Of the three Death in Venice is the undoubted masterwork. I heard it during its first London run in the early 1970’s – maybe there was a Proms performance then as well – both with Pears. This was a new production by David MacVicar which was unobtrusive and true to the work. Mark Padmore was the excellent Aschenbach and Gerard Finley the Traveller / Elderly fop / Old gondolier / Hotel manager / Hotel barber / Leader of the players. I was entranced and gripped by the different colours Britten produces in the orchestra for the different scenes, and just thought this was 5 star material – Mark Elder was the conductor.
On November 30th I went to see the CBSO performing Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat Suites and Stravinsky’s Petrushka – good vibrant performances – and a rarity Strauss Duett-Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon. Jaume Santonja Espinós was the conductor
John's musical journey 