Oreste

The Wilton’s Music Hall in London’s East End is the world’s oldest surviving music hall and the interior has a suitably distressed well worn look about it. There are signs that it was once quite ornate and its possible to imagine what it must have been like in it heyday.

This is the annual production from the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme and it’s an interesting venue in which to perform Handel’s opera as it presents some technical challenges. The surtitles are on screens at the sides in the stalls and projected on to the wall for those upstairs. The orchestra, the Southbank Sinfonia conducted by James Hendry, is in two sections with the brass to the left of the stage. It probably would be suited to a traditional rendition, but it has been removed from its classical setting and transferred to what looks like an inner-city with litter and graffiti all over the place.

The opera opens bloodily with the cursed Ifigenia (Jennifer Davis) executing someone and Toante (Simon Shibambu) bounding around the stage in sunglasses, DMs and full tin-pot dictator military attire. The tormented Oreste (Angela Simkin) is wandering around, not aware that he is looking at a death sentence since Toante has ordered that all foreigners must be executed. Helping Toante in the slaughter is Filotete (Gyula Nagy), nattily dressed in a Guantanamo orange jump suit. In to this comes Oreste’s wife Ermione (Vlada Borovko) and Pilade (Thomas Atkins).

They are duly arrested and condemned though Ermione is spared as Toante is attracted to her. In the background Ifigenia - not knowing that Oreste is her brother - is trying to help him escape, at the same time Filotete is pining for Ifigenia. Ermione recognises Oreste but seen by Toante jealousy consumes him and he’s off condemning them to death. This all gets sorted out with Toante getting his just desserts at the hands of the cast who revel in his blood as they each take a turn at him.

The plot is almost secondary as operas of the time were more about the music and performances than story. And being a baroque opera, arias abound. This gives the singers the opportunity to indulge themselves and their technique. All the cast are excellent but the standout was Borovko with the arias ‘lo sperai di veder il tuo volto’ and after Toante gives her an ultimatum and she fully understands the horror of her situation with ‘Dite pace e fulminate’.

However, the production doesn’t get so bogged down in vocal technique that the acting is a poor second. The characters (apart from Toante) are wearing normal clothes and director Gerard Jones draws out some very good performances. Simkin is intriguing with sideways glances, mouthing the words and finger- fidgeting clearly tormented. Similarly, Davis, with Alice Cooper eyes, is cut from the same cloth though a little less manic. There are some excellent scenes too like when Toante and Filotete put on party hats for the executions.

As such there’s a juvenility about the project and the Bash Street Kids came to mind occasionally. There was a feeling of abandon; the cast were clearly enjoying themselves, throwing caution to the wind and if maybe the deeper elements of the opera got lost, overall it didn’t suffer: It is very refreshing. There is a twist at the end but if you are paying attention it will not come as that much of a surprise.

Photos courtesy of Clive Barda and the Royal Opera House.

Performances 15,16,18 and 19 November