Handel's magic opera Amadigi di Gaula gets a delirious makeover at the Buxton Festival, where director Olivia Fuchs transplants the baroque four-hander into a Love Island-style reality show. The result is a staging filled with inflatable flamingos, camera crews, and more hearts than a cardiologist convention, keeping audiences smiling while they unexpectedly catch feelings.
A Reality TV Twist on Baroque Opera
The absurdity of Handel's magic operas often poses challenges for directors, but Fuchs leans into it by swapping sorceresses for all-powerful producers and foolish lovers for the cast of a dating show. On "Melissa's Island," Melissa pursues Amadigi, who is fixated on Oriana, while Dardano also tries to win Oriana's affection. The setup drips with toxic relationship energy, and Fuchs' endless invention sells the concept: Melissa's deceptive illusions become video trickery, her trial-by-fire a gameshow challenge, and the final act's tortures involve a hot pair of hair-straighteners and an eyelash-curler.
Small Cast, Big Chemistry
With only four singers, chemistry is everything. Sopranos Hilary Cronin and Rowan Pierce, along with countertenors James Hall and Tim Morgan (an impressive last-minute replacement), tangle in Handel's musical game of Twister. The absence of lower voices is another challenge, but the cast distracts with their vocal prowess. Erin Helyard leads the English Concert, a dream team of baroque dynamism, with propulsive playing that only pauses for emotive obbligato moments for oboe and bassoon.
Standout Performances
Hilary Cronin's Melissa deserves her own spin-off series. She delivers power-suited villainy with a hip-wiggle and an eyebrow-raise, every dastardly thought shaping Handel's coloratura. When she delivers an appoggiatura, you understand exactly how she'll deploy that eyelash-curler. Yet she breaks hearts in a final aria sung simply, straight down the lens. Rowan Pierce's wide-eyed Oriana offers vocal silver to Cronin's gold—lighter and more delicate. James Hall's vocal agility gives Dardano bite, though his "Pena tiranna" comes dangerously close to hero vibes. Tim Morgan's hapless charmer Amadigi gets the girl with only minor vocal sweat, a true slay.
Innovative Staging and Musical Excellence
This isn't the first reality TV opera staging, but Fuchs' invention makes it work. The set includes a barrage of cameras and an inflatable flamingo, keeping the action visually engaging. The English Concert's playing drives the narrative, with the orchestra providing a foundation of baroque dynamism and style. At Buxton Opera House until 20 July, this production is a testament to how classical music can be reimagined for modern audiences without losing its emotional core.
