On present form, English National Opera may be cr@p at, er, opera, but they retain a peerless genius for looking on the bright side, as the surgically enhanced press reviews on the publicity blurb for their dreary Coronation of Poppea demonstrate:
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What THE STAGE said: 'Kate Royal shines vocally as Poppea, though spends too much of the evening awkwardly placed on a high platform in Walt Spangler’s unimaginative set.'
What THE EVENING STANDARD said:'ENO has pulled together a strong cast of highly promising young British singers, including Lucy Crowe and Tim Mead, elegantly conducted from the harpsichord by Laurence Cummings. The problem was that they all seemed to be in the wrong roles, with none really bringing Monteverdi's spellbinding, and outrageously immoral last opera alive.'
What ENO heard: 'ENO has pulled together a strong cast including Lucy Crowe and Tim Mead, elegantly conducted from the harpsichord by Laurence Cummings.'
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What THE FINANCIAL TIMES said: 'The entire show is an empty conceit that confirms Chen as an adherent of the Robert Wilson school of direction: one style fits all. Pity the poor cast. A few of the singers summon enough voice and personality to shake up Chen’s dumb-show: step forward Robert Lloyd’s charismatic Seneca and Lucy Crowe’s Drusilla, a performance of real vocal edge.'
What ENO heard: 'Robert Lloyd's charismatic Seneca and Lucy Crowe's Drusilla, a performance of real vocal edge.'
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What THE DAILY TELEGRAPH said: 'Another major problem is that the Coliseum is too big for such an intimate opera. Some younger cast members (notably the deities in the prologue and Tim Mead's Ottone) lacked the vocal heft to project with any confidence – and I was hearing the performance from the best seat in the stalls. Doreen Curran's Ottavia and Anna Grevelius's Nero were sung with elegance and feeling, but seemed dwarfed by the space.'
What ENO heard: 'Doreen Curran's Ottavia and Anna Grevelius's Nero were sung with elegance and feeling.'
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What THE TIMES said: 'I had the same response to it as I do to Jacques Cousteau’s gorgeous underwater films: a nearly irresistible urge to fall asleep. What did keep me engaged was Cummings’s surging, propulsive tempos, some really spirited continuo playing, and many fine individual performances.'
What ENO heard: 'Cummings's surging propulsive tempos, some really spirited continuo playing, and many fine individual performances.'
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What THE GUARDIAN said: 'Drably conducted by Laurence Cummings, the score lacks a real dramatic pulse, while the casting is worryingly uneven. Kate Royal's Poppea certainly looks good in a bikini, but the production gives her no latitude to show us what drives this ruthlessly ambitious woman. She towers over Anne Grevilius's adolescent Nero, whose voice lacks the power and quality for the role. However, Doreen Curran makes a sexy, manipulating Ottavia, and Lucy Crowe a feisty Drusilla.'
What ENO heard: 'Doreen Curran makes a sexy, manipulating Ottavia, and Lucy Crowe a feisty Drusilla.' ************************
