Please could you just die already: Adriana Lecouvreur at the ROH
Adriana Lecouvreur
Royal Opera
Royal Opera House
10 February 2017
Stalls Circle standing D18, £13
Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur obviously has a lot of charming music. Alright, maybe not a lot, but some, expertly recycled. The Royal Opera has served it as best as it can be served: the set design is magnificent, the direction is smart, the casting as near to top-notch as you could reasonably expect. Even Daniel Oren, whom I have to say I did not enjoy in Lucia di Lammermoor, Un ballo in maschera or Carmen, put in a good turn, coaxing delight from the orchestra and maintaining near-perfect ensemble. But in the end this music is not my cup of tea and I felt, as with Les Enfants Terribles, that this is an undeserving recipient of such a gorgeous production.
So why did I go? Good question, and I guess the answer is that it's always exciting to hear great and nearly great singers in the ROH almost regardless of the music. I've been disappointed by Angela Gheorghiu's live performances in the past – so beautiful in recording, so quiet in the auditorium – and she took a while to warm up as Adriana. But when she did – volume and the odd intonation mystery aside – she gave an unbeatably classy performance. She can spin a portamento like no other singer would dare, and it is a lovely thing to behold. You can feel she must almost match the singer Cilea had in mind for the part: Gheorghiu was only overwhelmed by her fellow singers, never by the orchestra, and the tessitura seems to lie just right for her.
Most guilty of overwhelming was Brian Jagde, who's impressively loud but verging on shouty. I usually love a lot of volume but here felt slightly like I was being whacked round the ears. Otherwise the cast is absurdly good. Ksenia Dudnikova made her house debut as the Princesse and has a gorgeous fruity Slavic mezzo, matched by an imposing stage presence. I hope to see her again soon in rep I actually like. Gerald Finley as Michonnet was Gerald Finley: beautiful rich sound, nuanced character, impeccable delivery. I'll admit, I prefer him as Amfortas – but you've probably got that by now. The Jette Parker Young Artists in the smaller parts sounded superb, especially mezzo Emily Edmonds, managing to project strongly in some low-lying ensembles: quite a feat. But no matter how much I enjoyed the singing, I was in the doldrums by the end, urging the poison to take its effect and to release us into the cool night air.
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