Proms and the ENO at Printworks London – Glass Handel (3.09.22)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

15:00 & 20:00 Saturday 3 September 2022
Printworks London

Philip Glass: Songs from Liquid Days – excerpt
Philip Glass: Monsters of Grace – excerpt
Philip Glass: The Fall of the House of Usher
Philip Glass: 1000 Airplanes on the Roof – excerpt
Philip Glass: No More, You Petty Spirits (BBC commission: world première)
George Frideric Handel: Tolomeo – excerpt
George Frideric Handel: Flavio – excerpt
George Frideric Handel: Rinaldo – excerpt
George Frideric Handel: Rodelinda – excerpt
George Frideric Handel: Amadigi – excerpt

Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor
Jason Singh, nature beatboxer/vocal sound designer
Justin Peck, choreographer
Raf Simons, costumes
The English National Opera Orchestra
Karen Kamensek, conductor
James Bonas, stage director

Music, dance, theatre, video, audio soundscapes and haute couture come together in a unique project in the vast space of Printworks London. Works by Handel and Philip Glass collide in a spectacle conceived by Anthony Roth Costanzo that includes a world premiere by Philip Glass.

Created and co-produced with Anthony Roth Costanzo, Cath Brittan, Visionaire and the English National Opera, in collaboration with Printworks London.

[bluestateprommer]

From hearing this "Proms at..." on BBC Sounds, it would appear that, even more than usual, you had to be there in person to get the full multi-media experience, to state the incredibly obvious. On purely sonic grounds alone, though, this was a very fine concert, with ARC, the ENO Orchestra and Karen Kamensek on strong form. ARC and friends have given this "Glass Handel" production in a number of cities, e.g. Philadelphia, in the past few years and obviously pre-pandemic, as his album on which this production is based appeared ~2018 or so. The musical selections cover ~80% of the album. The sonic collages between selections worked OK for me, if only giving a very small flavor of the overall spectacle. I've never traveled to see any of the "Glass Handel" performances in the USA, and who knows when the next one will be here, or wherever around the globe.

[Brixton Dave]

Listening now in R3. I was there at the evening performance in September in The Printworks.
I can't say the Beat-box links between the pieces were a joy to listen to live - but at least you could see the performer in the gallery and hope he'd nearly finished. On my hi-fi at home these interludes sound more like an Attenborough documentary about courting whales.
The Handel and Glass come over sort of OK over the radio - but in the Printworks factory setting this was a full of sound reinforcement with a small orchestra boosted by the (high quality) pa as was the countertenor soloist. I think they could have done it all as well or better at the Royal Albert Hall - but from what I recall there was a clash with the Berlin Philharmonic and Mahler's 7th.
The delays and need for beat-boxing were caused by a lot of parading up and down in the venue with the soloist preceded by acolytes with light sabres. Very high church - but with writhing scantily clad dancers of both sexes and three massive screens showing the performers and abstract arty displays in between the three platforms. The orchestra and conductor were static on the middle stage.
I dug out my copy of 1000 Airplanes on the roof a while back. The first track sounds like Ligeti - but the rest is chug-chug Philip Glass.