Acis and Galatea
George Frideric Handel
Directed by Louise Bakker
City of London Sinfonia conducted by Michael Papadopoulos
Opera Holland Park
Acis and Galatea doesn’t seem to get many outings these days apart from Polyphemus’s aria “Oh ruddier than the cherry” which is a Radio 3 pot boiler. I’ve seen it only once before and that was in a concert version with five performers so it’s a real pleasure to see it fully staged, with wit and verve. Well done, Opera Holland Park for running with it. It’s hard to believe this is your first ever Handel opera.
Of course the plot line is very simple and pretty clichéd : two males lusting over the same female. Partly because of the linear nature of the narrative and the tableau-esque structure of the piece it has sometimes been dubbed a masque rather than an opera. Indeed that was how Handel originally presented it before reworking it as an opera. But director Louise Bakker, designer Alyson Cummins and choreographer, Merry Holden have found inventive ways of filling it with movement on Opera Holland Park’s very wide, double playing space. This production is anything but static.
An ensemble of eight plays Galatea’s spirits. She’s a sea nymph and they work hard to dissuade her from falling in love with Acis, a mortal shepherd, because they know it won’t end well. (I’ve long suspected, incidentally, that this was partly what WS Gilbert was sending up in Iolanthe). They are colourful and individually dressed to look rustic and otherworldly with lots of feathers, horns, and leaves. They sing impeccably – carefully cued by Papadopoulos who mouths every word – like a well trained chamber choir as they zip from place to place on the stage, continually re-grouping. The fugal singing at the beginning of Act 2 is a particular high spot.
Soprano Elizabeth Karani brings a blend of quiet dignity, innocent love and distraught passion to Galatea. She is especially good at sustained pianissimo notes which compel the audience to listen extra carefully. Anthony Gregory, tenor, gives us a richly musical Acis whose voice blends beautifully with Karani’s especially in “Happy We” when his line is often higher than hers which, somehow, adds to the all-loved-up glee they’re both feeling.
Ruari Bowen is outstanding as Damon, the sensible shepherd who offers advice and support. His warm, light high tenor is perfectly suited to this role. “Softly Gently” is a very long aria but he sustains the calm, very attractive 6|8 lilt to the last. I also enjoyed the witty moment in which he fondles a sheep in time to the trills and runs he’s singing.
Chuma Sijeqa’s very deep bass voice makes Poluphemus seem seductive even though he’s really a rapist trying to steal another male’s female. His low notes are suitably menacing and his higher ones almost plaintive. It’s a well balanced take on a character who is actually a lonely outcast.
Meanwhile the reduced forces of City of London Sinfonia are doing sterling work in the pit. Handel’s music is delicate, dramatic and tuneful in this work and Papadopoulos brings out every nuance. It’s a treat to see a theorbo (played by Paula Chateauneuf) in the mix too.
There are lots of chuckles in this engaging show. The ensemble becoming a flock of uncooperative sheep, chewing and baaing in fleece gilets is fun. So is the moment when Sijeqa forks his middle fingers and stabs them towards the huge single eye incorporated in his head dress in the time-honoured gesture to signal to Acis that he’s watching him. When we need to understand that Galatea lives in a pastoral paradise, the ensemble each puppet a paper bird around her, to some idyllic recorder playing which connotes bird song.
The set delights too. At its centre, immediately behind the orchestra is a circular arbour surrounded by ivy-clad Doric pillars to which ribbons are attached. It works as a frame and at one point becomes a maypole. The final scene of Galatea’s grief and eventual happiness is staged with strings of coloured lights, and since on a summer’s evening, the natural light has almost gone by then, it feels rather magical.
This is a fresh and original take on an engaging piece which still works well when given the right treatment, despite John Gay’s pretty awful libretto.
