Review: BBC PROMS:ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Royal Albert Hall
A mesmerising opera direct from Glyndebourne
At last night's Proms, we had the privilege of experiencing Richard Strauss's opera-within-an-opera Ariadne auf Naxos, arriving in the capital directly from the stage at Glyndebourne.
The evening of comic manners and a clash between high and low art gives way to an exhilarating two hours in the company of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a full cast of singers. The first, shorter, half of the evening is the prologue, where the Composer (mezzo Samantha Hankey, appropriately dramatic) is shocked to find that a low opera buffa is also to be presented at the high society occasion.
When the rich patron decrees that both entertainments should be performed together, egos clash, panic is afoot, and the scene is set for the second act where the evening's fun is played out. The prologue allows some excellent comic work from Michael Kraus and Ru Charlesworth as the music and dance masters respectively, the former in subdued style, the other a riot of glitter.
The comedy entertainment is led by Zerbinetta (stunning soprano Alina Wunderlin), who stirs both the Composer's contempt and attraction. Her work is one of the highlights of a performance bursting with life, ability, and sheer enjoyment. Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal had already collaborated on two projects: the dark, brooding opera Electra and the comic opera Der Rosenkavalier. In Ariadne auf Naxos, they bring together both styles to outstanding effect.
In the second half of the production - adapted in a semi-staged form from the current Glyndebourne production - Ariadne comes to the fore (sung and acted with aching beauty by soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen). Her solo arias are strong, her duets with Bacchus (tenor David Butt Philip, exceptional). Meanwhile, Zerbinetta and her four clown suitors (led by baritone Mikhail Timoshenko's lovesick yet cunning Harlequin) offer clever comic relief to a grand opera parody.
The original plan when Strauss composed this opera was to append it to a dramatic work by Molière. When this failed to catch on with audiences, the prologue was substituted instead, and history was made. Perhaps there is a cunning comment on the taste of rich patrons in the unseen rich man of Vienna who decides it is better to mix the genres than risk a dull evening.
Hofmannsthal's vision in the libretto was to blend 18th-century ideas and heroic characters with the harlequins and scaramouches of the commedia dell'arte. There were clashes with Strauss, who did not immediately like the idea of the prologue, while the librettist disliked the idea of casting a mezzo-soprano as the Composer. By 1916, a version that pleased both was agreed, with the magnificent final moments where Ariadne and Bacchus embrace while distractions fade into the background.
Conductor Robin Ticciati allows the music to support both the comic and the tragic, offering a remarkable tonal contrast from the comic coloratura showstopping aria of Zerbinetta ("Großmächtige Prinzessin") to the tragic aria of Ariadne ("Es gibt ein Reich").
This is a delight from start to finish, with laughter and glorious voices leading to a true emotional climax to send us soaring into the summer night.
Read our review of the production at Glyndebourne here.
The BBC Proms continues at the Royal Albert Hall until 12 September
Photo credit: Louise Penn
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