The staging of Baroque opera (here read Handel) can be tricky, given the musical styles and conventions of the works. With the arias being static, in that they are ‘frozen’ moments of emotional expression by the character, all the dramatic dynamism is contained in the recitatives. And the arias are characterized by verbal brevity, often no more than 4-6 lines of verse, while the main emotional impact is contained in the musical line, largely means of vocal variation and decoration while the words remain the same. This can create staging problems, as there is the issue of what the singer is or can do during these arias and so a lot depends on the sensitive creative imagination of the director along with the acting ability of the singer. When it is well done, one is not aware of any issues (I recall the ENO Mackerras/Janet Baker Giulio Cesare as a particularly successful example) but when badly done there is either dramatic stasis for the duration of the aria or excessive and pointless ‘business’.
The problem is compounded when Handel’s oratorios are staged as they were not designed for this mode of expression. However, the major operatic musical characteristics suggested above are common to them, the major difference being the role of the chorus – both in its magnitude and who or what they may represent. This may well change during the duration of the work, including the often-significant role where they act as external commentators on the scene. In operas (all operas in fact) the chorus will represent a specific dramatic group or groups. This can change from scene to scene of course, but they are invariably a dynamic part of the dramatic action conveyed by the principals.
Theodora is an oratorio so the issues above were much at the forefront of my mind when settling down to experience this. Until I had read the interview with Herheim in the (excellent) programme booklet I was rather baffled as to the central concept of the production but after reading what he said, it did become clearer. The fact that I was completely unfamiliar with the work probably also did not help.
The focus of the work, regardless of production style, was religious conflict between pagan and Christian and the conflict between duty and love and so the world had to be depicted in these terms on the stage, which, in a concert performance would be simply conveyed through the arias and choruses.
In Herheim’s interpretation the ‘world’ was depicted by an apparently accurate representation of the famous Café Centrale in Vienna. With the power dynamics of the original (President of Antioch/Roman soldiers/titular noble woman) being shown as the manager of the café as Valens, Antioch President and the other characters as his employees. The triple role of the chorus (Pagans, Christians and (briefly) commentators on the action) were represented, by costume, as follows; the Pagans were very elegant and smartly-dressed contemporary figures in the café, with the Christians then being shown by the discarding of these modern clothes and they being revealed in loose white underwear-style clothes. Towards the end, the modern/Pagan costumes were restored. For the brief time when the chorus were neither of these two groups but just commentators on the action, the chorus sat in rows on chairs, as in a traditional oratorio-style performance –a rather neat way of showing their different and non-dramatic role.
Through the windows at the back there were changing filmed images, many of buildings but these were not easy to see and I was unsure of their role. On one occasion, a flag (Austrian?) was prominent.At the very end the urban skyscraper images at night were redolent, to me, of the final background in Fight Club but I don’t think that that was deliberate – or could it have been?
At the end, the ‘martyrdom’ was represented by Theodora and Didymus being sacked from their jobs by Valens, returning their smart wait-staff costumes and leaving in modern casual clothes – very sharply contrasted with the smartly elegant clothes worn by the café clientele. But the religious/transcendental element was quite powerfully suggested by the closing image. A large balcony, hitherto hidden/not noticed, descended over the café with the curved stone roof now visible, making the café area seem confined and, I felt, representative of Earth as on the balcony was a white-winged angelic figure, looking down on the life of the café as we had seen it in the opening scene. This figure also had a VERY cool special effect as he held his arms out and flames appeared to be rising from his hands – I am sure a scientist/chemist could explain exactly how that was done! This was a very effective acknowledgement of the cosmic/spiritual aspect of the story, which was not one that had been stressed/indicated in the production. In fact, it crossed my mind whether the café was also, in some way, redolent of Hell with the inhabitants trapped in materialism but this was only a passing though and I think on reflection that seeing it as the material world that Theodora and Didymus rejected/had to reject is probably far enough to go with this idea.
And so, finally, the performance. The orchestra was an ultra-authentic Baroque one (La Folia Barockorchester/cond. Bejun Mehta (an (ex?) professional singer as well, interestingly). The balance between pit and stage was excellent and there was great rhythmic dynamism in the performance, which helped drive the drama forward; nothing worse than flabby Baroque performance.
The chorus (Arnold Schoenberg Choir) were, as ever, exceptional. Musically they are as good as any choir I have ever heard but one of their greatest strengths is the way that every single member is an involved individual and whenever you look at an individual chorus member on stage, whether they are singing or not, a central part of the dramatic action, each person is 100% ‘in character’. Now I suspect this is very much the director and, for me, so one of the best signs I know of a top-flight director, but they have got to have decent material to work with if this sort of result is to be achieved.
All soloists had absolute mastery, dramatic and musical, of their roles. Jacquelyn Wagner was a superb Theodora, using the vocal lines to vividly convey her emotional state and, as with all the other singers, the ornamentation and pyrotechnics being used for dramatic not canary-fancying effect. Evan Hughes as Valens had a strong stage presence, even when not a direct part of the stage action. But vocally the most remarkable performance came from a young countertenor Christopher Lowrey who was stunningly superb and gave a masterclass in how to make a formal musical language have tremendous emotional and dramatic power. Amazing.
So, an excellent evening of theatre and one that, for me, bodes very well for Herheim’s era at this (re-branded?) company. They now appear as MusikTheater a.d.W. not just Theater a.d. W