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Stunning Musical Performance
Donizetti's 'Lucrezia Borgia',
reviewed by ROBERT HUGILL
When performing Donizetti, most UK opera companies seem not to be able to see beyond Lucia di Lammermoor, Maria Stuarda and his two comedies. So it was heartening to find English National Opera [Saturday 5 February 2011, London Coliseum, London UK] venturing its first production of Lucrezia Borgia, especially as the work was the choice of the film director Mike Figgis, making his debut directing opera. Figgis is a musically literate figure, often writing the scores to his own films. But directing opera singers is different to directing actors; in a film the music can be crafted to fit the director's dramatic conception, but in opera the dramatic conception is inevitably constrained somewhat by the music.
Having chosen a conventional nineteenth century opera, Figgis then does seem to have attempted to re-shape the work somewhat...
Copyright © 8 February 2011
Robert Hugill,
London UK
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