HANDEL Acis and Galatea
Opus Arte DVD OA 1025 D; Blu-ray OA BD7056 D
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death in 2009, the Royal Opera House’s resident opera and ballet companies joined forces to present a whimsical and absorbing version of Acis and Galatea in which singing and dancing share the narrative burden.
Handel supplied no stage directions, so directors freely indulge their creative prerogatives when translating this delightful masque to the theater stage. Wayne McGregor, the director-choreographer, fills the dramatic blank spaces between the airs and choruses by assigning each of the five characters their dancing doubles. Dressed in flesh-colored body stockings, the dancers shadow the central lovers and two shepherds when they aren’t miming, enlarging upon, or sometimes even contradicting emotions that are only implied in the vocal texts. Some, though not all, of the choral numbers are similarly “interpreted” by a small corps de ballet.
What could have proved an awkward marriage of operatic oil and balletic water actually works quite delightfully. For this, let’s give thanks to McGregor’s eye for striking stage pictures and ability to invent fluid, dramatically apposite movement, along with the considerable skills of the performers.
Danielle de Niese, unaccountably costumed in a ratty fur coat and sporting a ludicrous wig of blonde pigtails, makes a wonderful Galatea, radiant in the grip of love, deeply affecting as she tenderly cradles Acis’ lifeless body. De Niese’s early balletic training comes in handy in the transformation scene at the end during which the soprano and the lithe dancer Edward Watson evoke the lovers’ spiritual reunion. Charles Workman sounds somewhat discomfited by the vocal writing but makes a believably naive Acis.
The sinuous dancer Eric Underwood suggests the inner Adonis trapped in the sagging corpulence of the brutish giant, Polyphemus; the villain is sturdily sung by Matthew Rose, although his ‘O ruddier than the cherry’ is curiously purged of any humor. Paul Agnew and Ji-Min Park acquit themselves nicely as the shepherds Damon and Coridon. The period instrumentalists of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment infuse the score with crackling verve and airy grace under Christopher Hogwood’s stylish hand.
Apart from the bizarre, thrift-shop costuming, Hildegard Bechtler’s simple designs prove effective enough, from the ruined stone façade various extras push around the stage, to the stuffed animals that dot the stylized sylvan landscape, to the Jackson Pollock-like blots of color that adorn the backdrop.
The high-definition picture quality and surround sound on the DVD release (a Blu-ray version is also available) are first-class. Extras include a synopsis, cast gallery, and a behind-the-scenes feature in which McGregor elaborates on his production concept. Handelians and ballet buffs alike should eat this one up, particularly since this new Opus Arte issue has the DVD field entirely to itself at the moment.
Posted Jun 07, 2010 at 9:22 am by lynn
Mr. Von Rhein, you are so spot on with your reviews. Danielle de Niese’s costume was not the best (ludicrous costume – which most people would have been delighted to see), but even this could not dim the “star quality” of this young singer. She made the most of it and sang beautifully bringing out the horrible sadness of the her lover’s death – you really felt her sadness. Yes she did herself proud dancing with the famous Mr. Watson (principal dancer – Royal Ballet) which showed what an all round performer this young woman really is.