When the curtain rises on English National Opera’s award-winning Partenope you find yourself not in antiquity (Handel’s original setting) but the 1920s with a white drawing room worthy of Syrie Maugham and a Partenope, played by Nardus Williams, who is a heady mix of Josephine Baker and the Queen of Sheba. First seen in 2008, Christopher Alden’s stylish production will, if your experience of Handel is oratorio and opera seria, show the composer in rather a different light. Because this is, in fact, a comic opera.
It’s an update that works perfectly with the absurdities of the love quadrangle where all are pierced by Cupid’s arrows and quite mad with passion. Almost everyone is in love with Partenope which is perfectly understandable. Not only does Nardus Williams look gorgeous, she has a lusciously flexible voice that makes even the most complex of Handel’s arias seem effortless. Her suitors troop up and down a vast curved staircase (one of the key elements of Andrew Lieberman’s clever design) and some are not entirely what they seem.
Nardus Williams as Partenope
As Rosmira/Eurimene, Katie Bray is only pretending to be in love with Partenope. But there again, she is also pretending to be a man and is actually the jilted fiancé of Arsace (thrillingly sung by countertenor Hugh Cutting) who really is in love with Partenope. Or there again, is he? The course of true love isn’t running too smoothly anywhere.
There’s Emilio (Ru Charlesworth doing an impersonation of Man Ray) who starts by wooing and ends up warring (literally) with Partenope. And then there’s Armindo, miserable in his state of unrequited love, sung by Jake Ingbar (another extremely fine countertenor). It’s not only his voice that is noteworthy either. Ingbar’s descent of the staircase is worthy of a contortionist and he’s not averse to the odd cartwheel or spot of tap dancing either.
Jake Ingbar as Armindo
The plot is too silly to worry about and it does all work out for the best in the end. The singing is excellent from everyone and the costumes and “business” on stage make the evening quite the romp – not necessarily what you might expect for one that lasts three and a half hours and is due in no small part of the ingenuity of movement directors Claire Glaskin and Elaine Brown.
The singers sparkle and there is some fine playing in the orchestra especially Christopher Bucknall (harpsichord) and Eligio Quinteiro (theorbo). There was something of a drama on the first night when conductor Christian Curnyn was taken ill during the first interval. He was replaced by assistant conductor, William Cole, who was deservedly cheered to the rafters. A delight of an evening and quite possibly the star of the ENO’s season.
Partenope continues at the London Coliseum with performances on 26th and 29th November, 3rd and 6th December. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.eno.org.
