Mad production, beautifully sung…
Just back from Fidelio at Glyndebourne – officially part of the Glyndebourne Festival Tour although I believe it’s going nowhere else, and actually one of the productions lost to Covid in the 2020 season.
It’s very much an opera of two halves – half is a completely mad production – which adds an entire 20th century riff on freedom (and possibly the Stasi) with loads of new pretentious dialogue – where ninja VTs live film the action which is projected over a huge mesh set and which concludes with a massive panto transformation scene which must have used up all the gold lamé in Brighton – and half is a beautifully sung opera with very fine orchestral accompaniment.
In this finale I was somewhat set back by the chorus singing Heil (actually ‘Hail the dawn’) and raising their right arms in salute – this really does have resonances and setting it sort-of-modern doesn’t overcome these.
Because the ninja VTs are moving around the principals, these stay quite rigid – the amount of actual acting is minimal. But the music – and the way it’s presented, is wonderful.
And the staging is certainly a talking (moaning?) point.
There look still to be seats (and as it’s the Tour they’re more reasonably priced) – running to 31st October so worth a visit. [Sadly, the opportunity has passed!]