Glyndebourne's first production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, directed by William Kentridge with a set by Sabine Theunissen, is a visual feast rooted in an artist's studio. The stage is filled with objects: ladders, chairs, sketchbooks, a mid-century desk lamp, and symbolic items like oak-leaf placards, colored cardboard concertinas, and an oversized metal cone used as a loudhailer. Projections on the back wall, designed by Janus Fouché, feature Kentridge's animated charcoal drawings, annotated archive documents, and fragmentary phrases, running from before the first note throughout the performance.
Visual Overload and Symbolism
The cumulative effect is overwhelming, especially for those trying to read surtitles. Some may find the visual busyness frustrating and the symbolism cryptic—repeated images of telephones and a map of Johannesburg remain puzzling. In a few scenes, the animated whirlwind seems to compensate for a lack of dramatic embodiment by the singers. However, elsewhere the connection between stage and screen is clearer. The figure of Music (who also sings Euridice's minimal lines) paints at a desk, seemingly generating the projections and the opera's world. Euridice has a dancing counterpart, Roseline Wilkens, captivating onstage and as an animated sketch in the projections.
Musical Excellence
Musically, the performance is equally hell-for-leather. Under conductor Jonathan Cohen, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment provides substantial bass with a deep-pile continuo section and sympathetic light and shade. The chorus delivers a lusty, finely blended group of nymphs, shepherds, and spirits. Krystian Adam as Orpheus, a straw-boatered colonial figure, is vocally at his best pleading with Charon. Excellent diction and stylish ornamentation are standard across the large cast, with charismatic turns from Hugo Herman-Wilson and Henna Mun. Xenia Puskarz Thomas's Messenger is fearless and raw in her mezzo's arresting power. Francesca Aspromonte as Musica and Euridice offers laser-focused vocal beauty and compelling dramatic presence, though one wishes Monteverdi had written more for her.
At Glyndebourne, Sussex until 25 July.
