La Clemenza di Tito - Glyndebourne

[MickyD]

I remember being bitterly disappointed by a performance of this piece at Sadler's Wells in the 80s - musically it promised much, with Christopher Hogwood at the helm of the Academy of Ancient Music. But the stage production was so damned cheap, with just some naff props littered sparsely here and there. I don't think I've listened to the piece since - must remedy that.

[David-G]

Visited Glyndebourne last night and like David-G and Dave2002 I was mightily unimpressed by the production. I could see no reason for setting it in some dark 30's/50's/70's fascist bunker beneath which reeds and straw beds were randomly strewn. The fact that there were two trouser roles and most of the singers and chorus were dressed in identical black and grey suits made for an added dimension of puzzlement of who was who. Sesto and Tito were boyhood friends but at last night's performance the age difference as adults was something like 30 years. This was possibly because Steve Davisilim (to judge by his bio, a younger man) was replaced by Richard Croft (of more mature years).
Glyndebourne's "Poliuto"(Donizetti) of some years ago was similarly darkly produced and set in some fascist dictatorship in the 30's. I may not be alone in getting ever so slightly bored with this meme to judge by some of the comments heard afterwards. We met a friend there before the performance who had come along primarily on the Sunday Times review. I didn't see him afterwards but as he is only a very occasional visitor to opera I can only imagine he may not have been duly impressed. I certainly wasn't.

Next year looks to be a corker with
Handel Saul
Debussy: Pelleas and Melisande (sadly not the stunning Vick production but one by Stefan Herheim whose work I don't know)
Barber: Vanessa
and revivals of Der Rosenkavalier and the GTO's Madame Butterfly.

And, a revival of the fabulous "Giulio Cesare"!! A great season indeed.

[Stanfordian]

Visited Glyndebourne last night and like David-G and Dave2002 I was mightily unimpressed by the production. I could see no reason for setting it in some dark 30's/50's/70's fascist bunker beneath which reeds and straw beds were randomly strewn. The fact that there were two trouser roles and most of the singers and chorus were dressed in identical black and grey suits made for an added dimension of puzzlement of who was who. Sesto and Tito were boyhood friends but at last night's performance the age difference as adults was something like 30 years. This was possibly because Steve Davisilim (to judge by his bio, a younger man) was replaced by Richard Croft (of more mature years).
Glyndebourne's "Poliuto"(Donizetti) of some years ago was similarly darkly produced and set in some fascist dictatorship in the 30's. I may not be alone in getting ever so slightly bored with this meme to judge by some of the comments heard afterwards. We met a friend there before the performance who had come along primarily on the Sunday Times review. I didn't see him afterwards but as he is only a very occasional visitor to opera I can only imagine he may not have been duly impressed. I certainly wasn't.

Next year looks to be a corker with
Handel Saul
Debussy: Pelleas and Melisande (sadly not the stunning Vick production but one by Stefan Herheim whose work I don't know)
Barber: Vanessa
and revivals of Der Rosenkavalier and the GTO's Madame Butterfly.

Hiya Bax-of-Delights,

This is a revival of Barrie Kosky's staging of 'Saul' from 2015. It has soon been revived!

[Cockney Sparrow]

Decamping to Glyndebourne for the day is quite an enterprise - back early hours, a long day. It has to be "worth it" - this year Traviata to see Mrs CS' favourite opera and the wonderful Joyce El Khoury as Violetta. I also have tickets for Il Clemenza and I suppose I shall indeed go, but the trip to hear a fine musical performance would be more worthwhile if it was accompanied by a decent production (sigh....).

As has been said, next year it will be a difficult choice once the limit of the number of trips has been set (on time/expense grounds).

[David-G]

Joyce El K was wonderful, wasn't she? Don't go to Clemenza with too heavy a heart, while the setting is all a bit strange, the direction and interaction of the singers is good. And there are no chairs thrown about the stage, no wheelchairs, no hospital beds... And the music is fabulous.

[Bax-of-Delights]

Joyce El K was wonderful, wasn't she? Don't go to Clemenza with too heavy a heart, while the setting is all a bit strange, the direction and interaction of the singers is good. And there are no chairs thrown about the stage, no wheelchairs, no hospital beds... And the music is fabulous.

I tweeted Alice Coote that it was good to see the bullrushes would be present once again on the RAH stage and I added a
She graciously "liked" the tweet.

[David-G]

I think that several of us here would completely disagree.
Personal opinions come in here, but of the ones we saw this year as a production I'd say that Hamlet was easily the best. Whether the music will last is an open question, and of course Mozart's music has survived a long while.

Hamlet was indeed marvellous. But I would give Hipermestra the prize, by a whisker.