In bringing the action of Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera (1859) forwards to the Hollywood’s Golden Era on either side of the Second World War, Rodula Gaitanou’s production (revived from 2019) suggests a conspiratorial world of gangsters with men in three-piece suits, plotting behind the façade of neutral panelled walls and fashionable high society. If they don’t appear too menacing, the playing out of tactics and violent confrontation is pre-empted by the fencing match which occurs in the very first scene.
Presumably by coincidence, the setting is not unlike a subdued version of Jonathan Millers’ well-loved Rigoletto for ENO, although such a deliberate connection could be telling since there are various parallels between these two operas by Verdi. Not inappropriately too, Matteo Desole has a certain swaggering, vocal character, importing a touch of the Duke of Mantua to the role of the lusty Gustavo, King of Sweden. But he settles down into more ringing lyricism later as Gustavo renounces his illicit passion for Amelia, even though that doesn’t save him from her husband Count Anckarström’s murderous hands.
Mixed in with that is a strand of supernatural melodrama from Macbeth with the soothsayer Madame Arvidson, who is consulted by the King and others. If Rosalind Plowright is somewhat wobbly in tone, she does sound otherworldly. Brandishing a fashionable cigarette holder when she first appears through an open door in a haze of smoke, there is the humorous suggestion that this hazy, apparently mystical apparition is the contrived effect of her own puffing on her tobacco. Despite the disbelief which attends her prediction that the King will be killed by the first person to shake his hand – as that is his supposed friend, Anckarström – the unfussy but lively direction and choreography neatly lead to the inevitable conclusion during the masked ball. That presents an impressive spectacle, contrasting with the tragedy at its centre: a panoply of figures from various historical periods enacts an austere pageant around Gustavo – mainly eras from British history, though there are also a samurai warrior, a geisha (Madame Butterfly?) and a Roman soldier.
Musical honours go to Elin Prtichard for her noble bearing as Amelia, never overdone, nor yielding to self-pity or pressure as she wrestles with her unconsummated love for the King in gloriously assured singing. In general Dario Solari sustains the role of Anckarström firmly, though some of the notes in the higher range are strained or abruptly choked off. The warn, tender regret of ‘Eri tu che macchiavi quell’anima’ as he laments what he interprets to be Amelia’s lost love captures more wide-ranging colour. The other two conspirators Jihoon Kim (Ribbing) and Duncan Stenhouse (Horn) offer a darker and more direct urgency in their parts, driven from the outset by vendettas of their own to seek Gustavo’s demise.
Michael Papadopoulos’s stealthy way with the Overture’s fugato section sets the lithe pace of the performance he leads with the City of London Sinfonia. It doesn’t lack for drama, but keeps the relatively long score (well over the more concise two hours of many of Verdi’s most compelling operas) on track towards its cathartic conclusion, with solid contributions from the Opera Holland Park Chorus.
Further performances to 7 August
