Classical and Jazz: Preview - Series of performances at the ROH and ENO
Published: 6 January, 2011
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
THERE’S a splendid choice of classical revivals, new productions and world premieres coming up over the next few weeks at the Royal Opera House and English National Opera.
Rossini’s bel canto classic The Barber of Seville opens on Tuesday, January 18 at the ROH in a revival of the 2005 production by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, bright with colour and high on humour. Two weeks later sees the opening of The Magic Flute in a David McVicars production. Sir Colin Davis conducts.
Third, later in February, the ROH is hosting the world premiere of Anna Nicole, a new work by British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thomas, co-creator of Jerry Spring: the Opera.
The opera looks at the high-profile lifestyle of American glamour model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, aged 39, who died after an apparent drug overdose.
Opera lovers should beware there are dollops of sex, extreme language and drug abuse, so they’ll be praying the music and the singing are very good.
The English National Opera has some interesting offerings, too, particularly a new production of Lucrecia Borgia, opening on Monday, January 31.
British film-maker Mike Figgis is making his operatic debut directing Donizetti’s masterpiece, a very different challenge compared with his films such as Leaving Las Vegas and Timecode.
“The approach that I’ve followed is basically to take the entire text of the opera and convert it into a film script, that is, let’s say, the kind of paper-and-ink language that I understand,” he says.
“I needed to see it in a language and format that I was familiar with. And, once you start looking at stage directions, then you suddenly start to get a physical sense of the piece.”
Other ENO operas include final performances of Jonathan Miller’s excellent La Bohème later this month and of Wagner’s Parsifal next month, along with the 25th anniversary revival of Jonathan Miller’s Mikado in late February and March.
• Visit www.roh.org.uk and www.eno.org