The Corridor / The Cure, Aldeburgh, review: Birtwistle's opera makes chilly debut
The dramatic pulse of these works is weak, their cold cleverness failing to touch the heart
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The new-music community turned out in force to watch the sixty-eighth Aldeburgh Festival kick off with the premiere of Harrison Birtwistle’s scena for soprano, tenor and six instruments The Cure, in a double-bill under Martin Duncan’s direction with his earlier scena, The Corridor.
And as the composer and his librettist David Harsent pointed out in a pre-show talk, these short works were, if not cognate, certainly connected by their themes. In The Corridor Orpheus takes his fatal look back at Euridice; The Cure sees Medea revive the ageing Aeson with a herbal potion.
And with soprano Elizabeth Atherton and tenor Mark Padmore sharing the stage with soloists from the London Sinfonietta under Geoffrey Patterson’s direction in both works, that connexion became intimate.
This is a very Beckettian art-form, and Alison Chitty’s designs with Paul Pyant’s lighting conferred intense dramatic power on key moments, most notably Padmore’s spooky transformation from Jason into his father.
As always with this composer, the vocal lines are alternately lyrical and jagged, while the instrumental writing – at moments reminiscent of Japanese gagaku - is ornate and intricate, with the harp performing a percussive function.
The performances of Atherton and Padmore suggest estatic rituals, but the dramatic pulse of these works is weak, their cold cleverness failing to touch the heart.
*Harrison Birtwistle’s The Cure/The Corridor is at the Royal Opera House from 18 - 27 June
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments