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There’s more to see in Glyndebourne’s first production of Monteverdi Orpheus. Directed by William Kentridge featuring Sabine Theunissen, the play originates from the artist’s studio and is carried by objects and images. Some are three-dimensional, real: ladders, chairs, sketchbooks, a mid-century desk lamp. Some are 2D or purely symbolic art (posters in the shape of oak leaves, colored cardboard concerts, large sheets of paper printed with Kentridge’s work, a large metal cone used as a speaker). And many are shown behind the wall of the stage in a video (produced by Janus Fouché) that starts with the first document of Monteverdi’s score and moves around, often motionless on Kentridge’s charcoal drawings, old notes written with few words.
The results are huge – especially if you want to read the surtitles. Some may find the visual busyness offensive, its representation gnomic. (I am puzzled, I admit, by the repeated images of telephones and a map of Johannesburg.) And there are several scenes in which the whirlwind of life seems to make up for the lack of drama produced by the musicians. But everywhere else the connection between the stage and the screen is clear. Kentridge has a figure of Music (who in this production also sings a few words dedicated to Euridice) painting on the desk all over, as if creating a spectacle and the world of opera. Euridice has a dance partner played by Roseline Wilkens, who captivates the stage with her moves and lunges, and spins around the screen like a cartoon. There is something interesting in the production that is sure to match the impact of the myth of Orpheus and the power and danger of emotional overload – from the music that helps Orpheus to the world until the final tragedy is caused by a single glance.
In music, there is also a quality similar to leather. Down conductor Jonathan Cohenand Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment he raised the bass with his large, deep-stacked continuo section and provided a tender, vivid light and shadow. The chant gave off an ominous sound, a perfect blend of nymphs, shepherds and spirits. Like Orpheus himself, Christian Adam and a race of straw-walking colonists, they speak eloquently in supplication to Charon. Among the great musicians, the clear voice and the beautiful decoration came as usual, the most impressive changes. Hugo Herman-Wilson and Henna Mun. Xenia Puskarz ThomasThe servant of the mezzo is fearless and is close to the power of building a mezzo. Like Musica and Euridice, Francesca Aspromonte it’s laser-focused vocal beauty and impressive presence. I only wish Monteverdi had written more for her to sing.
