Fitzwilliam Chamber Opera
16th and
Handel: Xerxes (Serse)
Sung in English (Nicholas Hytner translation, ed. Sally Bradshaw)
“The contexture of this Drama is so very easy,
that it wou’d be troubling the reader to give him a long argument to explain
it. Some imbicilities, and the temerity of Xerxes (such as his being deeply
enamour’d with a plane tree, and the building a bridge
over the
So reads the programme
to the first performance of Handel’s Xerxes
at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket. Despite, or perhaps because of, all that, the
newly-founded Fitzwilliam Chamber Opera made an unerring choice for their inaugural
production at the college. In an opera dominated almost entirely by solo
singers and the ever-changing relationships between the characters, it’s vital
to use highly trained principals, and that’s exactly what we got. In this show
the cast really knew their stuff. Although they weren’t all full-time singers, the
principals were all vocally and dramatically secure in their respective roles,
enabling the convoluted and preposterous ‘plot’ to evolve fluently in a way
that was readily comprehensible. Comic and tragic scenes succeeded each other
in a natural and unforced way, and the many moments of anguish or irony in the
dialogue evoked a continual response from the knowledgeable audience.
But it was in
the quality of the singing itself that the production really shone. It would be
invidious (and in this case that’s no mere cliché) to single out any one
singer. First up was mezzo-soprano Ruth Taylor in the title role, standing in
for a castrato – you just can’t get
them nowadays. Despite not being in the least bit overweight or of gigantic
stature (castrati apparently often
were) she managed the wide range of emotions demanded by the score with great
versatility and sang with glorious tone. Romilda was portrayed winsomely by
Suzana Ograjenšek, whose delightful soprano was matched by an English diction as
good as any despite her Slovene origins. Particularly fine were her accompanied
recitative and rage aria in Act III. Ben
Williamson as Arsamenes was the male alto in the production and showed great
vocal flexibility control in that register; he also managed to look sad and
lovelorn throughout. His angry duet with Romilda was one of the highlights. Handel’s
only comic role, the servant Elviro, was portrayed by accomplished baritone
Thomas Faulkner, whose mood of fatigue was a little artificial in Act I, but he
‘blossomed’ as a flower seller in Act II, and he became agreeably drunk. As Romilda’s
scheming sister Atalanta we had the irrepressible soprano Lotte Johnson whose firm
singing and tomboyish ways stole the show at various points. Portraying the foreign
princess Amastris in (transparent) disguise was mezzo Isabella Gage, who developed
into a formidable personality. Sturdy bass Christopher Law sang the role of the
sisters’ blundering father Ariodates (surely the youngest general ever to
command the Persian Army) with warm tone and lots of presence, despite some fidgety
movement. There was some initial nervousness generally, only to be expected on the
first night, but spirits improved later. The chorus sang their minor musical contributions
with energy and always looked well-drilled on stage.
The idea of using
the Fitzwilliam String Quartet as the (modern pitch) orchestra was fully vindicated
by their excellent playing, coupled with that of Francis Knights (harpsichord)
and other selected musicians. Fergus Macleod conducted with great faithfulness to
the details of Handel’s lively score and his tempi were ideal throughout.
The elegant sets
by Claire V.S. Pike were all in good Baroque taste. In Act I the pastel-coloured
Persian scenery was constructed so that ‘plane’ tree, throne room and lounge could
be swiftly replaced by an outdoor feel for Act II. A backdrop collage of
triangular sails in a watercolour palette represented the
For Claire Pike’s
costume and other design work there can only be praise. The flowing gold robes
and crown of Xerxes, Romilda’s simple blue shift with wedding veil later, Atalanta’s
contrasting outfit with black waistcoat – all cleverly designed to harmonise
well with the sets. The props were also of good quality, as was the glossy
programme, worth the £2 charged. A vast amount of work must have gone into the
production, and the large backstage and technical team under Andrew Booker and
Mike Rudin can’t all be mentioned for space reasons,
but most of them belong to the Penguin Club, an amateur theatrical support
group operating in
Robert Johnson