Opera Japonica/Archives/Letters from London, February to December 2000

Ruth Elleson's Letters from London 2000

February

It's only February, and already London has experienced possibly its most important operatic event of the year. On Wednesday 16th February, English National Opera (ENO) premiered Mark-Anthony Turnage's new work, The Silver Tassie.

The opera, based on Sean O'Casey's play and set in Dublin during the Great War, began its life in the ENO Studio where it was conceived by the composer alongside the singers who went on to perform the central roles. The piece is essentially a domestic drama, but the centrepiece of this drama is the devastation caused by war. Act Two could almost stand as a choral work in itself - the soldiers in the trenches, waiting for the call to action which comes just as they seem to have had their hopes refreshed - while the rest of the opera serves to pinpoint the effects of this universal depression on the lives of individual people and families. The main symbol of hope is football, around which the main protagonist Harry Heegan's life revolves, and which is taken away from him when he is paralysed in battle.

With folk-tunes and memorable choral writing amid the customary mass of modernistic dischords, and an exceptional cast including guest artists Gerald Finley, Vivian Tierney and Mary Hegarty among the best of ENO's Company Principals, the opera is innovative and at the same time approachable. I wonder if it will enjoy that accolade which is so rare for a new commission - a revival.

A different kind of 'big event' was on offer at the Royal Albert Hall during the first half of the month. The glossy, corporate-sponsored 1998 production of Madama Butterfly had its first revival, with two casts alternating to give a performance almost every day for three weeks and two performances on Saturdays. Playing to capacity audiences every night, this was 'opera for the people' in the truest sense of the term, sung in English with amplification. I toyed with the idea of seeing it, but with restricted-view seats costing seven times as much as the cheapest (but non-restricted-view) seats at the Coliseum, I decided against it and went off for a few more doses of good old non-amplified ENO.

The Royal Opera also pulled off a coup, with the first appearance of Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna together in a fully-staged opera in London since 1996. Roméo et Juliette opened on February 18th, with an enthusiastic audience packing the new Royal Opera House to the rafters. The quality of the celebrated couple's vocal performances is as high as everybody expected, but I found Gheorghiu in particular strangely uninvolving, and one can only speculate on how long it will be before these singers realise that the development of their individual careers is being held back by their insistence on only performing together. Of course the entire run of Roméo has been booked solid for months with not a spare ticket to be had, and as long as the audiences continue to reward every aria and duet (not to mention the self-congratulatory curtain calls) with wild cheering, I can't imagine that either Alagna or Gheorghiu will come away thinking that there is a problem.

Also at the Royal Opera House, the newly-imported stagings of La clemenza di Tito and Rossini's Otello drew to a close, while the ancient John Copley production of La bohème has returned for yet another revival. Over at the Coliseum, ENO has also had a great deal of success with its own Bohème revival, which closed on February 17th after a run of twenty performances of Stephen Pimlott's bleak but completely convincing production, and with the start of another revival of Nicholas Hytner's beautiful and honest Die Zauberflöte. Both boasted excellent young casts, drawn mostly from singers either currently or formerly on the company payroll. In addition, British Youth Opera gave an enjoyable Entführung aus dem Serail at the Royal Opera House's new Linbury Studio Theatre.

Although March lacks February's quota of noteworthy occasions, highlights include ENO revivals of Les Pêcheurs des Perles and Pelléas et Mélisande; at Covent Garden, revivals of Der Rosenkavalier (Fleming/ Graham/ Schaefer/ Hawlata) and Der fliegende Holländer (in which Bernd Weikl is scheduled to replace the regrettably indisposed Bryn Terfel). The Guildhall School of Music and Drama gives a double bill of the Donizetti rarity, Il giovedi grasso, and Puccini's better-known Gianni Schicchi, while at the Linbury Studio Theatre, the Classical Opera Company presents Mozart's La Finta Semplice. Additionally, the chorus and orchestra of Chelsea Opera Group will give Luisa Miller in concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (soloists have not yet been announced), and the Wigmore Hall hosts a concert performance of Acis and Galatea by the Early Opera Company.

March

Everybody knows that the Royal Opera House has been beset by difficulties since it reopened in December. It needed something spectacular to give it a boost, and it found that something on March 11th with the opening of its revival of John Schlesinger's production of Der Rosenkavalier.

It's not the production itself that merits my special accolade of the month - it's a sumptuous, lovely-looking production, but not especially interesting - but the cast, which combines the strongest elements of the recent Met production with some new faces which only serve to increase its strength. Renée Fleming, Susan Graham and Franz Hawlata were singing their third Rosenkavalier together, but each time they've had a different Sophie, in this case the German soprano Christine Schäfer. The three female voices suited one another to perfection, and the opening night was quite the most lavish and spectacular display of vocal magic that I have ever had the privilege to witness.

Covent Garden is having less of a success with Der fliegende Holländer. It was onto a loser from the start, with the withdrawal of crowd-puller Bryn Terfel from the title role, and continued technical problems forcing the management to change the structure of the performance from one act to three. Stepping into Terfel's shoes, Bernd Weikl is adequate but no more than that, while Solveig Kringelborn is vocally well out of her depth as Senta.

Over at the Coliseum, ENO has a soprano discovery on its hands. Its revival of Les pecheurs des perles was originally cast entirely from within the company, but the late arrival of Linda Richardson's baby prevented her from appearing as Leila. In her place is the young Scot, Alycia Fashae, who was originally understudying the role. With crystalline purity of tone and natural musical grace, she is a genuinely interesting artist. ENO's other production currently running is Richard Jones' thought-provoking production of Pelléas et Mélisande, originally seen at Opera North but now playing to London audiences for the first time.

Thanks to some magnificent singing from Julian Gavin and Mark Holland, Chelsea Opera Group's Luisa Miller at the Queen Elizabeth Hall was a great success in spite of the title role being undercast. The following week, University College London Opera continued their tradition of staging forgotten works by mounting an interesting production of Wolf-Ferrari's I gioielli della Madonna with a vibrant young cast.

April highlights at Covent Garden include the final few performances of Der Rosenkavalier (with a new cast led by Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Monica Groop and Camilla Tilling) and the opening of David Pountney's production of Martinu's The Greek Passion. ENO's Les pêcheurs des perles also welcomes some new faces, with young company tenor Rhys Meirion in his first major role as Nadir and the experienced Judith Howarth making her house debut as Leila. Also opening at the Coliseum in the build-up to Easter is a fully-staged version of Bach's Johannes-Passion, along with a revival of Madama Butterfly featuring the Australian soprano Cheryl Barker alongside ENO principals. The Barbican promises some interesting concerts, among them The Rake's Progress under Richard Hickox with Philip Langridge, Peter Coleman-Wright and Rebecca Evans, and Ariadne auf Naxos under Simon Rattle with a cast headed by Katarina Dalayman, Angelika Kirschlager and Christine Schäfer. The Royal Schools of Music present Handel's Ottone, while Willard White and Maria Ewing will each give a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

April

This month saw the eventual Covent Garden première of a work which the house turned down almost fifty years ago - Martinu's Greek Passion. This David Pountney production whose first perfromance took place at the 1999 Bregenz Festival, is the first ever of the opera in its first version, although the second version has been in the more obscure end of the world's repertoire since the 1960s.

A strong and unstarry cast presented this tale of Greek Orthodox village life, where the cast of the local passion play find their lives developing Biblical parallels when faced with a crowd of starving refugees. The music is approachable, if not remarkable, and the performances are excellent, especially by Jorma Silvasti, Marie McLaughlin and Gwynne Howell in some of the leading roles.

Otherwise, because of the Easter break, there has been little of interest this month. The Barbican had the best selection on offer, with a semi-staged performance of The Rake's Progress with Philip Langridge and Laura Claycomb (taking the place of Rebecca Evans) and two all-star concert performances of Ariadne auf Naxos under Simon Rattle. In fact the all-star element was not all it could have been, with the indisposed Katarina Dalayman being replaced by the lesser-known Anne Schwanewilms, who nevertheless turned in an impressive performance, while in smaller roles Susan Gritton and John Mark Ainsley also withdrew due to illness. Stars remained in the form of Angelika Kirchschlager (Composer) Christine Schäfer (a dazzling Zerbinetta) and Thomas Allen (Music Master) while rising Scottish soprano Lisa Milne was an outstanding Echo.

English National Opera marked Easter with the intriguing idea of staging Bach's Johannes-Passion (they will similarly stage the Verdi Requiem in the autumn). The staging was simple, interesting and moving, and much of the solo singing was excellent (most notably from Mark Padmore as the Evangelist). However, the music did not suit either the chorus or the Coliseum. Another revival of ENO's Madama Butterfly surfaced on 19th March, with the cast, led by the compelling Cheryl Barker, almost identical to the 1998 revival. The only new cast member of any importance is John Hudson as Pinkerton, to be replaced by old-hand David Rendall in May.

May also sees another revival of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Covent Garden, along with two concert performances of Norma starring Nelly Miricioiu. ENO opens its own first showing of an old Elijah Moshinsky Ernani with a vibrant young cast, and will revive Yevgeny Onegin with one including Anthony Michaels-Moore and Orla Boylan. However, the month's most interesting offerings are afforded by the BOC Covent Garden Festival, which will include (among other things) Thomas Arne's Alfred, a chamber performance of Tristan und Isolde with a twin-piano accompaniment, the end of the ETO's long tour of The Rake's Progress with promising young bass James Rutherford, and the world première of The Music Programme by Roxanna Panufnik. Taking to the platform at the Wigmore Hall is an outstanding selection of mezzo-sopranos - Olga Borodina, Susan Graham, Ann Murray and Larissa Diadkova.

ENO have announced their exciting programme for the 2000-1 season, to include performances of Leoncavallo's La bohème, a concert La Gioconda with Jane Eaglen, the première of David Sawer's new opera From Morning to Midnight and the start of a five-year build-up to a complete Ring cycle.

I must make one final mention, and it's cheating really, as it's nothing to do with London at all. Opera North has just opened its latest revival of La Gioconda, with Verdi soprano Claire Rutter making a sensational first foray into the really dramatic repertoire. I travelled up to Leeds for the opening night and it was unquestionably the operatic highlight of my month.

May

The English National Opera has dominated the London opera scene this month with two productions, neither of them new, but both cast so strongly as to cast aside all the disdainful comments normally generated at the very mention of the words 'revival' and 'import'.

Firstly, they have resurrected a 21-year-old Welsh National Opera production of Verdi's Ernani and rejuvenated it as their own. At the start of the run Julian Gavin, full-voiced and passionate if a little rough around the edges, sang the title role, with baritone Alan Opie and bass Peter Rose both turning in world-class performances as his rivals for the love of Elvira. Roberto Salvatori and John Hudson take over from Opie and Gavin for the last few performances. Elvira is sung throughout the run by one of the company's most talented principals, soprano Sandra Ford, who seems to turn in a stronger performance with each new role she takes on (and who will add to her Verdi experience next season when she sings Leonora in Il trovatore). The chorus and orchestra clearly love it, under David Parry.

Secondly, Sian Edwards conducts a revival of Yevgeny Onegin with a similar level of talent. The company rarely gets the services of an artist of the calibre and reputation of Anthony Michaels-Moore, who is perfect as the bourgeois gent of the title, and here he is paired with the vocally and dramatically engaging young Irish soprano Orla Boylan. Christine Rice gets to show off her low notes as Olga, and Peter Rose (between Ernani performances) is an exceptional Gremin. Only John Mark Ainsley is miscast in the role of Lensky, which stretches his voice beyond its limits.

The Royal Opera has been less interesting. The company revived Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg to mixed reviews (I didn't see it) and gave two concert performances of Norma, the first of which was purportedly rather good and a triumph for diva Nelly Miricioiu. I saw the second, and found it very lacklustre - Miricioiu sounded unwell and the men were appalling. For me the show belonged to Susanne Mentzer, restrained but warmly dramatic as Adalgisa.

Everything else of interest has been provided by the BOC Covent Garden Festival which has thrown up some rarities and unusual interpretations. I saw Camberwell Pocket Opera's Tristan und Isolde in English at the Linbury Studio Theatre, with two pianos in place of the orchestra. Having expected a disaster, I found it to be a fulfilling experience. Although I longed at times for an orchestra, the singing was (mostly) of above average standard, and the production was simple but very clever. A surprise hit - more so than I gather was the case for the première of Roxanna Panufnik's new work, The Music Programme which was slated in the press.

Although June is almost the end of the season at the major houses, there is still a wealth of opera to be seen. At the Coliseum, ENO's new production of John Adams' Nixon in China is eagerly awaited, along with two interesting collaborations with the Mark Morris Dance Group - Four Saints in Three Acts (Virgil Thomson) in a double bill with Dido and Aeneas, and Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. Meanwhile at Covent Garden, the Kirov Opera and Ballet prepare for their summer in residence - operas at the start of the season include The Snow Maiden and Mazeppa - while the Royal Opera itself will give concert performances of La battaglia di Legnano at the Royal Festival Hall. Opera Holland Park kicks off with Madama Butterfly, followed by L'amore industrioso (Carvalho) and L' amico Fritz. London Royal Schools Opera will perform The Rake's Progress, while the Guildhall's summer show is The Beggar's Opera. Jigsaw Opera will perform Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci in the Purcell Room.

June

At the end of the first season at the all-new Royal Opera House comes the long-awaited residency of the Kirov Opera and Ballet. I'm not in the business of passing comment on ballet, but there's certainly more than enough opera going on to keep the attention of even the most hardened fanatic.

For a season of entirely Russian works, all conducted by Valery Gergiev, the company have passed over the most immediately obvious choices and come up with an eclectic mix of comparative rarities. Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Prokofiev are all represented in the selection.

The Kirov have brought all their resident artists, from the big international stars such as Borodina, Grigorian and Putilin down to the current members of the Young Singers' Academy of the company's home theatre, the Mariinsky. The last week in June saw the opening nights of Prokofiev's rarely-performed Semyon Kotko and Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa, both of which continue into July when I will see them. Also in the first week came a single concert performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Snegurochka which turned out to be something of a showcase for the company's youngest members, with a cast mostly under thirty. Making the most of the supremely lyrical score, Gergiev led his young protegés to an enchanting performance - of particular note was the 23-year-old tenor Daniil Shtoda as Tsar Berendai.

The season continues in July with Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, with various casts including some of the Kirov's biggest names, and a second Prokofiev opera - the epic War and Peace.

The presence of the Russian company has necessitated the house's resident company to find an alternative venue, and on 30th June the Royal Opera gave the first of two concert performances of Verdi's La battaglia di Legnano at the Royal Festival Hall. Placido Domingo was the big box-office draw as Arrigo, with a supporting cast which looked good on paper but which failed to deliver the goods - Leah-Marian Jones and Orlin Anastassov, both in small roles, were strong, but principal soprano and baritone Veronica Villaroel and Anthony Michaels-Moore did not perform at their best.

Also this month, English National Opera opened their long-anticipated production of John Adams's Nixon in China, alongside two collaborations with the Mark Morris Dance Group - the revival of Handel's L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato and a new double-bill of Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts with Dido and Aeneas. Their season finishes in early July, and we eagerly await the Italian Opera Season in the autumn.

Opera Holland Park opened its summer with Madama Butterfly followed by Carvalho's rarity L'amore industrioso and Mascagni's L'amico Fritz. At the Barbican the Berlioz Odyssey series continued with Beatrice et Benedict (La damnation de Faust and Les Troyens will follow in the autumn) while Britten's Gloriana was heard at the Royal Festival Hall. Next door at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, this year's members of the National Opera Studio presented their annual showcase, with especially promising performances given by baritone Roland Wood, sopranos Catherine Hegarty and Gabriella Lambert-Olsson, and mezzo Louise Poole. The London Royal Schools Opera presented The Rake's Progress and the Guildhall staged The Beggar's Opera.

July sees the beginning of the summer dead patch. Along with the Kirov, Opera Holland Park attempts to fill the gap, continuing with Cosi fan tutte and The Yeomen of the Guard, and at the end of the month comes the first operatic Prom of the year, with a concert including the last act of Die Walküre. In the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House, Opera a la Carte will stage Le nozze di Figaro and students from the Guildhall will present their annual programme of staged operatic excerpts.

July

The Kirov Opera's residency at Covent Garden ended on 15th July with a finale that was every bit as distinguished as the opening. In my last article I commented on Snegurochka and Khovanshchina which I had then just seen. I later saw Mazeppa, Semyon Kotko and the one everybody had been getting excited about - War and Peace.

Given the extremely advanced age of some of the productions revived by the company in recent weeks, it is quite clear to see why the prospect of a new one caused such a fuss, and in the event, it WAS worth the hype. The cast I saw featured rising star Anna Netrebko, whose lovely face featured prominently in the marketing material for the London residency, as Natasha, with Alexei Steblianko as a terrifically satisfying Pierre and Alexander Gergalov as Andrei. Fyodor Mozhaev was Napoleon; Gennady Bezzubenkov was Field-Marshal Kutuzov. The production was simple and spectacular at the same time, making quite an overwhelming impression by the sheer number of performers on the stage. The giant revolving platform of the stage transformed from the extravagant ballrooms of St Petersburg into the terrifying no-man's-land crossed by advancing armies and fleeing people. The lesser roles were as strongly characterised as the principals, every one thought through in detail, while Gergiev led his orchestral and choral forces in a memorable reading of yet another Russian score.

As the end of ENO's season consisted of the company's two collaborations with the Mark Morris Dance Group - with the focus very much on the dance rather than the opera, and thus beyond my powers of criticism - it only remains for me to mention the few oddments of operatic activity which have been valiantly trying to cover up the fact that there really isn't anything going on at the moment. Opera Holland Park's annual season has continued with Così fan tutte and The Yeomen of the Guard; the first operatic Prom of the year has taken place, with the third act of Die Walküre, the cast headed by Christine Brewer and James Morris. The Linbury Studio Theatre saw a small-scale production of Le nozze di Figaro by Opera à la Carte, and an interesting selection of staged operatic excerpts by opera students from the Guildhall. That's all.

August looks little better. Proms this month include Iolanthe, Le nozze di Figaro and programmes of arias by Natalie Dessay (Mozart) and Nathalie Stutzmann (Handel) while the season at Holland Park concludes with Un ballo in maschera. A production of L'elisir d'amore is touring various London venues, and if you must see yet another Figaro, Opera Box is staging it in Wimbledon. Roll on September, when the main venues reopen - I count ten different operas in the month.

August

The new season is now almost upon us. So how will it compare with the last? Every season there seem to be certain operas which turn up on the stage of almost every opera house in the country. The 1999-2000 season included Falstaff at the Royal Opera, British Youth Opera and Opera North; The Rake's Progress at the Barbican, English Touring Opera, the London Royal Schools' Opera and Glyndebourne; Der Rosenkavalier at the Royal Opera, the English National Opera and the Welsh National Opera; La bohème at the English National Opera, the Royal Opera and in various touring guises, and Madama Butterfly at the Royal Albert Hall, the English National Opera, Holland Park and Opera North. There have been so many different stagings of Le nozze di Figaro that it has been difficult to choose which to see, and last autumn's two or three different productions of The Beggar's Opera have been added to in the year 2000 by the Guildhall's staging and by the new musical inspired by the piece, The Villain's Opera, which has been running at the National Theatre.

The 2000-2001 season sees everybody deciding upon The Rape of Lucretia, starting with British Youth Opera's production in September, to be followed by productions at the Royal Academy of Music and the English National Opera. Falstaff is still popular, with a Royal Opera revival to be joined by one at the English National Opera.

Next year sees the centenary of the death of Giuseppe Verdi, and I had expected that the occasion might be marked by some interesting productions of some of his less-performed works. But the major houses have showed a disappointing lack of imagination on the subject, opting for the popular classics once again. However, I have not yet obtained season details for UCL Opera, the Covent Garden Festival, Chelsea Opera Group or other small-scale ventures, so there is still hope. And of course there's always those responsible for the Proms, who won't announce the next season until May, but who are famous for championing the works of composers with a significant anniversary.

Now for my usual report on the month in hand. As usual during the summer, the centre of London's operatic life has moved westwards from its position during the main season, with performances at Holland Park and the Royal Albert Hall being the main sources of entertainment. Gilbert and Sullivan has been popular this summer, presumably because of the centenary of the death of Sir Arthur Sullivan. At the start of the month I saw The Yeomen of the Guard at Holland Park, and a few weeks later I saw the Proms version of Iolanthe with an all-star cast and a topical narration in place of Gilbert's dialogue. Also, the open-air theatre in Regent's Park has put on an ecstatically-received production of The Pirates of Penzance which I have not seen.

Other performances have included Un ballo in maschera, ending the season at Holland Park, and a semi-staged Le nozze di Figaro at the Proms by Glyndebourne Festival Opera. French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay also put in a sensational appearance at the Proms later in the same week with a programme of Mozart arias, followed a day later by contralto Nathalie Stutzmann in a programme of Handel.

September sees the start of the long-awaited Italian Opera Season at the Coliseum, which will begin with Manon Lescaut, L'incoronazione di Poppea and La Gioconda, while the Royal Opera's season opens with Tosca, Billy Budd and Les contes d'Hoffmann. There are still two operas to come at the end of this year's Proms season - Parsifal and Mahagonny - while Proms in the Park, the open-air event coinciding with the Last Night of the Proms, will feature soloists Willard White and Angela Gheorghiu. British Youth Opera will perform Serse and The Rape of Lucretia at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and a performance of La belle Helène will take place at the Barbican.

September

L'incoronazione di Poppea at the English National Opera: Alice Coote as Poppea and David Walker as Nerone

Photo: Bill Rafferty

Finally the new season has arrived, bringing with it the project of the English National Opera (ENO) to relive four hundred years of Italian opera. For the purpose of this specialseason - lasting until Christmas - the Coliseum has been transformed.Scaffolding walkways run in front of the dress circle and onto the stage,the stage boxes (normally seating areas for the audience) have become additional entrances and exits, connected by ladders, and a lofty platformhas been created high above the proscenium arch to add yet another dimension. Lurking in the gloom created where parts of the structure joinare shadowy masked figures in black cloaks, acting as outside forces who observe the operas and from time to time even seem to cast sinister glances into the audience and the orchestra pit. I was aware of their presence atfirst, but having now been to four performances and two rehearsals in the Italian season, I've found that I no longer notice them. Then suddenly one of the stage lights catches, with a glancing ray, the white of one of themasks, and once again I am being watched. The audience is, in effect, part of the opera, with an audience of its own.

Not to be outdone, the onstage action gets an extra audience, for observation seems to be a theme common to the staged productions seen so far. During the season opener, Manon Lescaut, the chorus are hardly ever off the stage, a motley crew in powdered wigs looking down not just on the public scenes but on Manon's private life. In L'incoronazione di Poppea the extremes of the stage are occupied by muscular young fauns in camouflage vests and red bandanas who entwine themselves around the poles of the extra staging and mirror the deeply sexual mood which permeates the production. Roman statues also gaze silently down at the mortals of the piece, who of course are already being watched (on and off) by Fortune, Virtue and Love,just to see who will win the bet.

As for the productions themselves, one is problematic, the other a triumph. Manon Lescaut has bold ideas, but seems more restricted than inspired by the vast amounts of scaffolding on stage - the central performance area, for the last two acts, was cluttered with symbols of fallen grandeur and lost innocence. The deportation scene is probably the most effective, using the entire circumference of the auditorium walkway. The cast, mostly ENO principals, is headed by two outstanding guest artists - the Swedish soprano Nina Stemme as a thrillingly full-voiced heroine, and the American tenor Martin Thompson as a passionate Des Grieux with all the notes - but the production never allows them enough intimacy. And when I saw it - on openingnight - there was a lot of work still to be done to adjust to the new acoustic environment created by the scaffolding structures. Poppea, on the other hand, had little to fault it, in its new production by Stephen Pimlott in his usual spot-on blend of wit with a total understanding of the necessary interactions between characters. As with the last revival of his production of La bohème, an already strong production was turned intosome thing stunning with the help of a vocally accomplished and extremely sensitive (in this case pheromone-laden) cast with a collective gift forcomedy. Particularly outstanding are Alice Coote as a sultry, insatiable Poppea, David Walker as an arrogant, Adonis-like Nerone, Sarah Connolly as a tragic Ottavia, and Susan Gritton as a feisty Drusilla. The orchestra - an imported baroque ensemble - are up on stage behind a large raised disc upon which most of the action takes place, solving the acoustic problems of Manon Lescaut.

The other opera already heard at the Coliseum this season was La Gioconda. The reason I declined to include it with my above comments is that it was a different affair altogether. The performances, of which there were only two, were concerts. By an unprecedented leap of faith for ENO, they were sung in Italian (with the translation printed in the programme). And the cast, although largely rooted in ENO's fairly recent history, was one the company can normally only dream of. Dennis O'Neill was a spectacular Enzo,Anne-Marie Owens an impressive, sympathetic Laura, and Peter Sidhom a loathsome Barnaba. Also putting in strong contributions were Alastair Miles (Alvise) and Catherine Wyn-Rogers (La Cieca). Topping the bill was Jane Eaglen, who, despite having the name that managed to sell out both performances well in advance, was actually the major disappointment at both performances. Being a concert, with full orchestra and chorus on stage, much of the stage structure was dismantled - but those dark masked figures were still there, lurking, looking especially at home in the shadows of this Venetian carnival opera.

The Royal Opera has also had a mixed start to its season, with three revivals - a patchy but enjoyable Tosca with Malfitano, Alagna and Michaels-Moore, a brilliant Billy Budd (strangely ill-received by most of the London critics) with Keenlyside, Begley and Halfvarson, and a strongly-cast Les contes d'Hoffmann with Marcelo Alvarez, Desiree Rancatore, Irini Tsirakidis and Angela Gheorghiu. One performance each of Tosca and Hoffmann was relayed on the large screen to a live audience in the Covent Garden Piazza, with principals taking live curtain calls in front of the screen after their bows in the house are over.

October at Covent Garden sees a new cast in Tosca, headed by Maria Guleghina and Giuseppe Giacomini (no, he still hasn't retired) and the much-anticipated opening of a new production of Tristan und Isolde with Jon Frederic West and Gabriele Schnaut. The Italian Opera Season at ENO continues with Il turco in Italia. The Berlioz Odyssey series continues with La damnation de Faust at the Barbican, where a concert performance of Offenbach's La Belle Helene will also take place. Wigmore Hall recitals this month include Gerald Finley, Joan Rodgers, Marjana Lipovsek and Maria Guleghina.

October

Judith Howarth as Fiorilla in Rossini's Il turco in Italia at the English National Opera, London

Photo: ENO

The Italian Opera Season at the English National Opera continued in October with an updated version of Rossini's Il turco in Italia, which was inspired in both concept and casting. The author Prosdocimo became a Fellini clone, screenwriting and directing a new blockbuster movie called 'Italia!' and coping with the trials and tribulations of dealing with a difficult diva (Fiorilla), her henpecked producer husband (Geronio) and an arrogant matinee idol (Narciso). He begins to liven up the plot with the help of a star-struck nobody (Zaida) and her idol, the Turkish film star Selim - so the film then becomes 'Il turco in Italia' - get it?

Victoria Simmonds as Zaida and Judith Howarth as Fiorilla in Il turco in Italia

Photo: ENO

The action is accompanied by updates on the movie's progress - title sequences and various scenes are projected onto the giant screen which makes up the back wall of the set. One feels, though, that director David Fielding missed an opportunity with the camera-work - cameras mounted on trolleys on the scaffolding walkway would have provided some shots to die for. But in a way, the audience is the camera, in that the singers -especially those whose characters are actors - play to the camera for all they're worth. Thomas Allen and Judith Howarth are excellent as Prosdocimo and Fiorilla, with Donald Maxwell as Geronio, Toby Spence as Narciso and Victoria Simmonds as Zaida.

Judith Howarth as Fiorilla and Donald Maxwell as Geronio in Il turco in Italia

Photo: ENO

Meanwhile, Herbert Wernicke's new production of Tristan und Isolde at the Royal Opera House has divided the opinions of critics and audiences down the middle. The staging focuses entirely on the psychological nature of the love between the two protagonists, and thus does not allow them to touch physically for even a moment. On the contrary, they remain on huge separate platforms at opposite sides of the stage for much of the opera; Isolde never appears anywhere else on the stage but on her platform. The fiery Isolde's platform is bright red; the contemplative Tristan's is deep violet. But the lack of any physical contact, and the serious shortcomings of soprano Gabriele Schnaut and tenor Jon Fredric West, created for me a grim experience. If it hadn't been for the vocally compelling, intensely acted Brangaene of Petra Lang, the sympathetic and stylishly sung King Marke of Peter Rose, and the luscious playing of the orchestra under the masterful baton of Bernard Haitink, it would have been a complete disaster.

An international educational project reached London this month with the culmination of a European tour by Jeunesses Musicales International of Krasa's children's opera Brundibar, which originated in the Nazi concentration camp at Terezin. The project is intended to continue worldwide to promote, along with the piece's unpleasant history, the themes of peace, solidarity and the triumph of good over evil which abound in the opera. Schools, communities and youth groups are adopting the idea in many different countries, and it is hoped that the project will continue to grow. Any groups interested in extending it to their own community can find out more details at www.brundibar.net.

Various operas in concert at the Barbican, plus a visit to the Royal Albert Hall by Chisinau National Opera's production of Aida, concluded business for October. November is far more rich in operatic offerings - the most interesting of which is surely Leoncavallo's rarely-seen take on La bohème, next up in ENO's Italian Season with an exceptionally promising cast. ENO then continues with two more new productions; first, Dallapiccola's Il prigioniero, later, Nabucco. Revivals of Katya Kabanova and La traviata open at the Royal Opera House, where Bryn Terfel will also be giving a recital. The Guildhall School of Music and Drama presents a triple-bill of French operas, and Weill's Dreigroschenoper comes to the Bloomsbury Theatre. Chelsea Opera Group are preparing for a concert performance of Strauss's Feuersnot, Copland's The Tender Land will once again be heard at the Barbican, Chisinau return with Tosca and the Royal Academy of Music Vocal Faculty will perform The Rape of Lucretia. St John's, Smith Square hosts a performance of Rossini's La donna del lago, and the Linbury Studio Theatre hosts Opera Piccola's production of Il barbiere di Siviglia.

November

Leoncavallo's La bohème at the English National Opera: Sandra Ford as Mimi and Leigh Melrose as Rodolfo in Act Four

Photo: Bill Rafferty

Those in search of the conventional would have been disappointed in London this month. Rarely-performed works by Strauss, Debussy, Massenet, Rossini and Dallapiccola have graced the stages and concert platforms of the city within the last few weeks, most of them worth seeing and hearing, some excellent. But for me, the most interesting prospect for the month was the English National Opera's new production, by Tim Albery, of Leoncavallo's La bohème, hardly ever performed since Puccini's better-known setting of Murger's story originally overshadowed it, and not performed in London since 1970. Intrigued by its novelty value, I attended the dress rehearsal and the first night - but ended up enjoying it so much as both a piece and a production that I returned again and again.

It really is a fascinating opera, especially if you have read the book. Unlike Puccini, Leoncavallo does not attempt to consolidate Murger's episodic narrative, streamline the cast or idealize the characters. Consequently the opera falls into two very distinct halves - the first full of inane, irresponsible frivolity, the second almost unbearably bleak - and features protagonists who are anything but the caricatures created by Puccini. The female roles are by far the most interesting - Mimi, as played by Sandra Ford, is a natural flirt who doesn't seem to realize the effect she has on men, and accidentally breaks hearts all over the place in the name of enjoying herself. Musetta - a mezzo - is not merely a tart with a heart, but the most perceptive and mature of all the characters; along with Schaunard, who is something of an outsider, she is the only one who recognizes her own limitations, and who accepts that La Vie Bohème is a temporary measure which cannot remain fun forever. The third act, when after months of miserable poverty she makes the break with Marcello and pleads with Mimi not to make the mistake of forsaking a rich protector for the perceived romance of life with Rodolfo, is the emotional centre of the piece. And in the last act, which some have criticized for giving the limelight to Mimi at the end of what is really Musetta's show, it is Musetta's angle on the situation which is the most poignant. She tried and failed to prevent Mimi from destroying herself.

ENO cast the opera mostly from within the company, and the majority of the young cast could have stepped from between the pages of the novel. As Musetta, Christine Rice sang her best role yet with the company, and her talents were equalled by those of Sandra Ford as Mimi (unsurprising given the quality of her Puccini Mimi this time last year). The tenor Marcello (Rhys Meirion) and baritone Rodolfo (Leigh Melrose) are young artists, still on the company's junior programme, and were beginning to sound tired towards the end of the run, but gave the roles total dramatic commitment. Paul Whelan, a non-company artist, was an imposing and memorable Schaunard. Every character seems to have been studied in the greatest possible detail, and the fact that they are all so horrible to each other is reassuring in that it is a rare example of operatic characters behaving like real people. The timescale - a year, to within three or four hours - contrasts with Puccini's five months or so in that it gives the pairs of lovers time to get sick of one another. Their partings are anything but 'senza rancor'.

Leoncavallo's La bohème: Christine Rice as Musetta and Rhys Meirion as Marcello in Act Two

Photo: Bill Rafferty

ENO also staged Dallapiccola's Il prigioniero in a triple bill with Berio' s folk song settings and Rota's ballet La strada, while the other rarities I mentioned included Strauss's Feuersnot by Chelsea Opera Group and Rossini's La donna del lago by Midsummer Opera. The Guildhall School of Music and Drama had an all-French triple-bill of Debussy's L'enfant prodigue followed by two Massenet pieces, Le portrait de Manon and the highly unsubtle La Navarraise. Some semblance of conventionality was maintained by the Royal Opera in their revival of Kat'a Kabanova with Amanda Roocroft and Josephine Barstow, while right at the end of the month ENO's new production of Nabucco opened - a conventional choice of opera, perhaps, but in anything but a conventional setting, with the orchestra costumed and on stage. The very exciting American soprano Lauren Flanigan made her ENO debut as Abigaille, with baritone Bruno Caproni in the title role and Alastair Miles as Zaccaria.

Operatic London is virtually dead in the run-up to Christmas, but the most significant event is surely the culmination of the London Symphony Orchestra's Berlioz Odyssey series - three complete all-star performances of Les troyens. The Italian season at ENO ends with a staging of something which isn't an opera at all - Verdi's Requiem - and the Royal Opera will revive La Cenerentola and last year's production of Falstaff.

December

David Pittsinger (bass) in the staged Verdi Requiem at the English National Opera

Photo by Bill Rafferty /ENO

Well, it's over. The English National Opera's exploration of four hundred years' worth of Italian opera came to an end in the middle of the month, with two new Verdi productions. The first was Nabucco, interestingly done with the orchestra integrated into the set, but what was more fascinating, possibly the most adventurous undertaking of the entire Italian Season, was the decision to stage Verdi's Requiem.

The precedent for the staging of oratorio at the Coliseum was set last Easter with the truthful realisation of Bach's Johannes-Passion, but the Requiem presents more problems for a director. Bach's Passions are narratives, with a plot which can be followed from start to finish; it would seem less of a challenge than to stage a Mass setting which is a perpetual outcry without a linear structure. Still, with a setting like Verdi's, which many have described as his best opera, director Phyllida Lloyd must have spotted the dramatic possibilities at once.

London critics have disagreed more vehemently over the production than over almost anything else I've seen lately. Many dismissed it as kitsch, banal, pointless, even laughable; one reviewer was saddened that the season had to end on 'such a damp squib'. They panned it so comprehensively that I wonder whether, for any of those people, the production struck an even deeper chord than with the minority who agreed with the ecstatic audience. Because, towards the end of a staging which has strong points and weak points, the audience is suddenly asked to witness one of mankind's greatest terrors - an individual faced with eternal abandonment and rejection. I've always found the soprano solo in the Libera Me strangely disturbing, and ENO 's image of the black-clad, terrified woman surrounded by redeemed souls but unable to rekindle her own personal Lux Aeterna will stay with me for a very long time.

Susan Parry (mezzo-soprano) in the staged Verdi Requiem

Photo by Bill Rafferty /ENO

A new production of La Cenerentola opened just before Christmas at Covent Garden. Although I have not yet been to see it, it was broadcast on BBC television on December 26th, and is a real treat. The highlight, as I suspected, is the Peruvian tenor, Juan Diego Florez, who continues to make his mark at the Royal Opera having been a favourite since his debut in 1997 aged only 24. His fantastic ability to make devilishly high Rossini sound effortless is sure to take him far. Sonia Ganassi seems a charming Cenerentola, and the rest of the cast is very strong. Incidentally, Music Theatre London, a company which stages opera using singing-actors instead of trained opera singers, have staged the same opera this month - along with a 'sequel', created from bits of obscure Rossini and entitled 'Gentlemen Prefer Wands'.

Otherwise there has been little going on, largely because there seems to be a general consensus that, at this time of year, people would rather go to the ballet or to gala concerts. The Royal Ballet have had a much more prominent presence than the Royal Opera at Covent Garden this month, while English National Ballet have taken up their usual Christmas residence at the Coliseum. All the major concert halls are in the grip of the Raymond Gubbay Ltd Christmas Festival - that is to say a large number of Classical Spectaculars, Messiahs by Candlelight and Johann Strauss Galas. One small respite came in the form of London City Opera, who had the Queen Elizabeth Hall for a week to put on Die Fledermaus.

January sees normality descend once more on the Coliseum, where the scaffolding was dismantled just hours after the last performance of the Italian Season. Nabucco continues, though, along with concert performances of Das Rheingold which herald the start of ENO's Ring project (it will be worked on one opera at a time, culminating in a complete Cycle in 2005). The Polish State Opera of Wroclaw will come to the Royal Festival Hall with La bohème. Various concerts at the Barbican, along with a Royal Opera revival of Falstaff, are the first signs that this year is Verdi's centenary. And Ben Heppner will give a recital at the Royal Opera House.

Ruth Elleson is London's youngest opera critic. An Internet pioneer, she posted her first reviews on the net at the age of 19. Originally from the historic city of Durham in the north of England, she moved to London after university at York. She now attends up to 200 opera and concert performances a year, A frequent visitor to the conservatoires and vocal competitions, she has an unrivalled knowledge of upcoming vocal talent. A singer in her own right, Ruth performs as a mezzo-soprano in the professional five-voice choir of the Church of the Annunciation, Marble Arch.

See also the current Letter from London and Letters from London 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004