Rapture attack: La clemenza di Tito at Glyndebourne
La clemenza di Tito
Glyndebourne Festival
Blue Upper Circle Standing 5, £20
29 July 2017
Glyndebourne page
Good company, great singing and the right amount of wine: these, I have decided after much research, are what make the successful Glyndebourne venture. (Weather-appropriate footwear should also be there, but it doesn't flow as well.) (Great music is another important one but maybe… that's… already… a given?)
On Saturday we had no sunshine; nay, we had much, much rain. Nor did we have a production that provided any useful illumination of the opera. But those three(/four(/five)) necessary criteria were met squarely and fulsomely, and thus a fine time was had.
That proclaimed, I can't say I wasn't more than a bit gutted not to hear Alice Coote sing Vitellia. I have been excited about the idea of Alice Coote singing Vitellia for a long time. Alas, it was not to be. Italian soprano Gioia Crepaldi stood in for the injured Coote and on the whole did a decent job. Only the bonkers final aria 'Non più di fiori' lay definitively beyond her reach, as indeed it does for most.
Now begin the torrents of praise. Anna Stéphany, whom I already liked from Der Rosenkavalier at the ROH, achieved remarkable things in Act I. Her incredibly attractive sound and pin-point accuracy made 'Parto, parto' a sublime joy. I was in raptures. Indeed I still am in raptures, although the Act II Stéphany didn't quite equal those giddy heights.
I have cherished Richard Croft's recordings for many years and now I cherish his physical self (figuratively speaking). His voice live is beautiful, creamy, heady loveliness, an easy strong sound over the whole of his range. He is always perfectly, absolutely in tune. The elegance of his phrasing made me weep. Raptures again.
More raptures for Michèle Losier. Her ensembles in Act I were beautifully balanced, but it was her Act II arias that stole my heart. Gorgeous singing, perfectly poised musicality. In the smaller roles, Joélle Harvey sang beautifully, as she always does, and Clive Bayley was a dependable Publio.
And the orchestra! Ah, the orchestra. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment seemed almost to be showing off how much they nail this repertory. Great ensemble, superb articulation, wonderful obligatos. The continuo team of Ashok Gupta and Louise Buchberger are among the best I've heard: such tight, intelligent playing. Conductor Robin Ticciati, who doesn't always float my boat, orchestrated all this outpouring of excellence, and chose sensible tempos.
No, I didn't like the production. This saddens me, as I thought Claus Guth's production of Die Frau ohne Schatten for the ROH had a lot going for it. I got only one idea from this Tito, and that was that Sesto and Tito were close, but different. I'm not really sure what that adds to what Mozart is already doing. What I am sure is that I didn't like Christian Schmidt's set (again, excellent in Die Frau) of bull rushes and reeds, causing ambulatory distress in all corners.
Still, a tide of rapture carried me home. What singing… what music… what an opera.
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