Opera North, The Sage Gateshead

Opera North’s latest visit to The Sage Gateshead had audiences captivated with two contrasting productions bearing a prison theme. The opening night took us to the frozen wastelands of Siberia, as portrayed in Janacek’s last opera, From the House of the Dead; itself drawn from Dostoevsky’s novel of the same name and based on the author’s experiences in the Russian prison system. It was a concert production stripped of sets, costumes and choreography, which served to focus attention on the singing and music, leaving the rest to the imagination. The cinematic music of Janacek, was conveyed with gusto by the orchestra and was underpinned by superb performances from a strong line-up of characters, who conveyed the full drama of the work. Instead of a single narrative thread, prisoners come forward to tell their individual stories of jealously, betrayal and murder. Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts as Filka Morozov (Luka) conveyed his character’s calculating ruthlessness with spine-chilling effect. Yet he could also display a touching vulnerability. Alan Oke put in a searing portrayal of Skutarov, with a sharp tenor that cut to the core in his lament for his life in Moscow and his yearning for the sweetheart he killed. Robert Hayward played Shiskov, who had killed his wife for loving another man. Hayward’s sense of impotent rage was palpable when he depicted the moment Shiskov realises that Luka, who has just died, was that other man. Ultimately the work is shot through with the hope of redemption, personified in the release of an eagle that has been nursed back from its injuries by the prisoners. The voice of Claire Wilde, playing the boy Alyeya, took to the stratosphere as she sang of the eagle soaring away. A punchy production, it worked at every level. The following evening saw a concert staging of Beethoven’s solitary opera Fidelio. In a nutshell, Leonore (Emma Bell) disguises herself as the boy Fidelio, as she sets out to rescue her husband Florestan (Steven Harrison) from the clutches of evil Don Pizarro (Andrew Foster Williams). The diminutive Fflur Wyn put in a towering performance as Marzelline, while Jeremy White’s lustrous bass gave Rocco’s character an added depth. As for Bell, she was an indisputable star, with a voice that scaled the high notes effortlessly and projected the full range of emotions. The chorus’ concluding hymn of praise was overwhelming in its power.