| Iphigenie en Tauride
English National Opera By Michael Church With the ROH’s universally-derided Tosca, and ENO’s over-hyped and witless Angel’s Bone, both our big companies have recently covered themselves in ingloriousness with productions which should never have seen the light of day. So it’s nice to be able to report that Lyndsey Turner’s new production of Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride is a decent – if not dazzling – piece of work. It was Gluck’s last opera, and it has no magic moments to compare with Orphée’s ‘Dance of the Blessed Spirits’, but its Trojan War subject matter offers plenty of scope for drama with heroism, long lost siblings, threats of execution, and a merciful deus ex machina. There’s no scenery, just atmospheric lighting, and a constantly burning ceremonial brazier in homage to the gods; a large army of magenta-robed vestal virgins energetically sweep the temple clean. The orchestra, under David Bates’s crisp direction, make the most of the tear-drenched score, and the chorus are on top form. |
Vocally the production is held together by mezzo Christine Rice’s commanding performance as Iphigenie, and by the beautifully contrasting voices of the male protagonists – the softly persuasive baritone Jacques Imbrailo as Oreste, and tenor Nick Pritchard as Pylade – as they wrestle to win the honour of being sacrificed to the goddess Diana.
The first night audience were appreciative – and very forgiving when the work was briefly brought to a stop by the sudden failure of the lighting rig – but I couldn’t help feeling that this whole event – which is only getting four performances – was an ENO own goal. The company has been so cruelly cut back that every performance must be seen as (ideally) a tactical move in its survival strategy, but this production is closer to a concert performance than a throbbingly operatic drama. The work simply doesn’t have the levers that actuate the emotions of a 21st century audience; its plot is too rarefied to do the job, and its characters too stylised. It doesn’t, I’m sad to say, engage the heart.