Our summer of music wrapped up with back-to-back performances that were both, in their own ways, rigorously traditional. (Opera Friday, Proms Saturday)
Orfeo ed Euridice was Longborough's final opera of their 2017 season. Their baroque operas are reserved for their young performers and are usually where they take their big creative risks. Xerxes as nightclub owner. Rinaldo as a circus. Nothing so avant garde here. The set might have been stripped down to a clean set of stairs topped by a circular gateway, and the costumes vaguely Middle Eastern, but overall it was a performance that the Austrian royal court for whom this was composed would have found recognisable. The dancers came in for their stately intermezzos. The story proceeded in a straightforward, uncomplicated way. The orchestra and singers were top notch ... though the traditional castrato lead was played by a woman rather than a counter-tenor.
Given the rarity of men able to hit the high notes, turning baroque heroes into "breeches roles" is fairly common, but Longborough had avoided it in both Xerxes and Rinaldo. Mezzo soprano Hana-Lissa Kirchin was completely convincing, however, and did a phenomenal job in an opera where her character is centre stage and singing for the lion's share of the production. Nazan Fikret's Euridice was as beautifully acted as sung, from her delight at being awoken in the underworld to her confused, hurt anger when Orpheus won't speak to her.
If you don't know the plot: the gods allow Orpheus to descend to the underworld to bring his beloved, pre-maturely dead wife back to life, on condition that he doesn't speak to her or look back at her until they return to the land of the living. In myth, they almost make it when Orpheus turns to check she's following, and he loses her forever. Composer Gluck gives us an American-style happy ending, with the gods interceding to bring Euridice back to life ... even though Orpheus has broken the rules ... as a reward for their true love. With its exquisite music, group dances and happy ending, this is another excellent introduction opera for those wanting to ease into the genre.
Twenty four hours later we were, admittedly, paying more attention to the food and company than to the music. The casual, outdoor, picnic-as-you-listen nature of the Battle Proms means the music is always a bit more background entertainment than the main event. When you choose to set up a marquee you're stuck at the back of the field, where distance exacerbates the divide. But given the day's earlier weather ... torrential rains and beating hail ... we didn't want to risk attending without cover.
It was much the same as previous years, with a few tweaks. The Andrews Sisters-style Rockabellas were replaced by a ragtime band. A few new pieces swapped into the first half of the classical concert. But the same Regency military re-enactment troupe performed in the adjacent field and the same Spitfire did its rousing flyover. The same canons thundered to the 1812 Overture, the same fireworks punctuated Beethoven's Battle Symphony, the same patriotic medley had several thousand people singing along to end the evening.
The most distinctive part of this year's Battle Prom will live in our memories as the introduction of three young British expats to this aspect of their national heritage. My godson was born in Luxembourg and has never lived here. His brother and sister have lived overseas for half their lives. Introducing them to this rousing part of their national heritage was magical. Their assignment before next year's event? Learn the words to Jerusalem by heart.
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