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Alexandra Lowe (The Bride) in British Youth Opera’s production of The Vanishing Bridegroom.
A name to note: Alexandra Lowe as The Bride in British Youth Opera’s production of The Vanishing Bridegroom by Judith Weir. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Observer
A name to note: Alexandra Lowe as The Bride in British Youth Opera’s production of The Vanishing Bridegroom by Judith Weir. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Observer

British Youth Opera; Vienna Philharmonic/Harding; András Schiff – review

This article is more than 6 years old

Peacock theatre; Royal Albert Hall, London
Potential opera stars seize their moment in The Vanishing Bridegroom and Don Giovanni. Plus, two miraculous hours of Bach from András Schiff

If you shone a torch round the auditorium of London’s Peacock theatre in early September, venue for British Youth Opera’s annual showcase, you might find a higher than average number of scribblers. Not just critics, but agents, casting directors and others, marking up their programmes in hope of spotting a winner. BYO’s participants benefit from workshops and professional coaching from those at the top of the operatic profession. Then they’re out there on stage, exposed, before the bright lights of judgment.

This may have its agonising aspects, but it gives a clubbable feel to BYO shows. This 30th anniversary they have paired Judith Weir’s The Vanishing Bridegroom and, sung in English, Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Weir’s 1990 opera, three Scottish Gaelic tales rolled into a 100-minute piece, provides an obligingly large cast of 26, with a similar number in the chorus. The tiniest cameo can reveal a potential star.

That said, you needed your wits about you to work out who was who in Bridegroom, briskly conducted by James Holmes, confidently directed by Stuart Barker and stylishly designed, a fairytale scene taking place beneath wooden rafters, by Andrew Riley. Weir’s love of folklore and myth spins its own magic. The score is alive with choral interjections, insistent percussion, solo fiddling. Weir’s voice, as ever, is distinctive and approachable.

Dramatically, matters are less clear, with verbal delivery from the singers not always as sharp as it should be. When the emphasis is on ritual and pattern rather than individual character, you need all the help you can get. The third story, The Stranger, is the most substantial: a handsome stranger arrives to woo a young woman – well performed by London-based Swedish mezzo Ida Ränzlöv. Her lover turns out to be the Devil (bass Timothy Edlin). From the large ensemble, some names to note: Ian Beadle (Bridegroom), Alexandra Lowe (Bride), James Liu (in the blink-or-miss role of Narration).

How to make an entrance… Charlie Drummond (Donna Anna) with Jake Muffett in the title role of Don Giovanni. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Observer

Don Giovanni had strong singing all round, and some good ideas in James Hurley’s production, set in a grim, unfinished tower block designed by Rachel Szmukler. Unfortunately the piece outstayed its welcome. It felt sluggish in tempo. Jokes were in short supply, with barely a hint of its essential black humour. Long pauses between scenes were injudiciously accompanied by electronic noises off – a cork-popping party, a prolonged and noisy boom – whether to set the scene or to help pass the time (“it would have passed in any case”) wasn’t clear.

The Southbank Sinfonia, accompanying both operas, worked hard and efficiently, but Lionel Friend’s Giovanni tempi were too leisurely. A tightening of reins would have transformed proceedings, since the individual elements were impressive. All the women – Charlie Drummond (Anna), Samantha Clarke (Elvira), Lauren Joyanne Morris (Zerlina) – rose to their big moments, with, between them, plenty of talent ripe for development. Felix Kemp (Masetto) and, particularly, Adam Temple-Smith as Don Ottavio stood out, as did Christian Valle as the Commendatore, whose mighty bass made a lasting impression. Jake Muffett in the title role, though a little underpowered vocally, has bags of potential. The irresistible energy and wit came from Leporello, Glaswegian Michael Mofidian, also an imaginative singer.

Hit it… the Vienna Philharmonic perform Mahler’s Sixth at the Proms. Photograph: Chris Christodoulou

Two end-of-season Proms on the same evening ran the gamut, in scale and mood, of this magnificently sprawling festival. Daniel Harding conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in Mahler’s Sixth Symphony (1903-4, revised 1906), which requires a colossal orchestra. A cartoon, reproduced in the programme, shows Mahler with an array of percussion – whip, cowbells, hammer – clutching his head and saying “My God, I forgot the motor horn” – probably jolly funny in Vienna at the time.

Some may have found Harding’s slightly cool approach to this fate-burdened work, nicknamed “Tragic”, unsatisfying, lacking sufficient conspicuous agony. Yet it released the buoyant qualities of this score – its generous, too often forgotten lyricism – saving catastrophe to the last. He chose the Andante-Scherzo order of movements; there are inexhaustible arguments for either. His decision convinced. The Viennese strings’ lustrous playing of the opening melody came as balm after the shrieks and roars of the first movement. Horns, and all the brass, were fiery and brilliant. There were some blips in ensemble, but the pleasure in hearing these astounding players squashed all quibbles, without the need of a hammer blow (or as here, another of those disputed Mahlerian issues, two rather than three).

András Schiff playing late-night Bach: ‘unforgettable’. Photograph: Chris Christodoulou

The late Prom was András Schiff playing Bach (broadcast live on Radio 3 and BBC4). Solo instruments suit the Albert Hall. Without display, Schiff embarked on the C major prelude No 1 in the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1. Two hours later, having traversed every key – counterpoint pure and limpid, voice-leading clear and sturdy, each tempo judged to perfection – he reached the final B minor fugue and stopped. If he used the sustaining pedal, it was so discreet you could not detect it. Not a muscle in his body appeared anything but relaxed, travelling deeper into the inexplicable mysteries of Bach’s music. It was one of those unforgettable revelations.

Star ratings (out of 5)
The Vanishing Bridegroom/Don Giovanni ★★★
Vienna Philharmonic/Harding ★★★★
András Schiff ★★★★★

  • Proms 72 & 73 are available on BBC iPlayer until 7 October

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