semele walk, town hall, sydney festival 11/01/2013
just got back from this very unusual staging. i won't go so far as to say it was an opera because there were only 2 characters and let's be honest, zero plot. i knew the plot was being thrown out when the first song after the overture was the last chorus from the end of Act I. props to vivienne westwood for awesome costume/catwalk business, it should have been spread out more throughout the performance though instead of primarily at the beginning.
major sacrilege alert!!: jupiter was sung by a counter-tenor. why why why. as my friend and i discussed, this led to zero contrast between semele and jupiter's voices because the ranges are the very similar.
eta: as i listen back 'jupiter's' first aria was in fact iris' aria, bah
because there was no plot and no secondary characters driving the plot this led primarily to semele singing aria after aria. overall it was ok but i'd like to see some handel specialists really nail the coloratura. and counter-tenor 'where e'er you walk' will never come close to the anne sofie von otter version (from 1990!). to finish off it ended with the penultimate chorus, leaving no happy ending because as aforementioned the plot was thrown out. no final happy chorus :(
saved the best for last. i derived the most joy from the sydney philharmonia choirs as the chorus, scattered through the audience in everyday wear. the overall aural effect was pretty great, surround sound and great singing.
the reception from the audience we thought was very surprising.. standing ovation! my only thought is that handel operas should be done more by opera australia, general handel education is needed.
6/10 including a full 2/10 for the choir alone.
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