Baroque opera presented with period instruments and modern technology is all the rage and Transition Opera are, at their best, among the most imaginative practitioners. Their production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea combines a small band under Baroque specialist Christian Curnyn with witty video design by Netia Jones.
It starts promisingly, with the "Rural Prospect" of the libretto relocated to the seaside, the shepherds as slightly camp sailor-boys, the heroine in a swimsuit. Two lads play beach ball, a spotlight cleverly bouncing between their bats. Acis is a Boy Scout, earnest but dependable, clearly not one of the lads but able to rise to the occasion when his sweetheart plays with his woggle.
The action, which alternates between the aquatic and the pastoral, incorporates some good visual effects, notably the bloodstreaked screen after Acis’s death but not much evidence of traditional theatrical direction.
Nicholas Watts and Sinead Campbell take the title roles in a decent rather than outstanding cast. Each had their moments, Watts in his heroic Love Sounds the Alarm, Campbell in an appealing Heart, the Seat of Soft Delight, one of Handel’s most eloquent arias, its bubbling fountain evoked by limpid recorders.
Jonathan Brown’s Polyphemus, despite his fashionable bionic eye, was disappointing in O Ruddier than the Cherry but Nathan Vale was a fresh-voiced Damon. Benjamin Breakwell and Alvaro Flores Mejorada supplied the other roles.
Curnyn’s brisk pacing kept the action moving swiftly along but too often at the expense of expressivity: his singers and players needed more room to phrase intelligently. But it’s an enjoyable evening.
Until Friday (020 7702 2789)
Transition Opera: Acis And Galatea
Wilton's Music Hall
Graces Alley, off Ensign Street, E1 8JB
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