L’heure Espagnole and L’Enfant et les sortilèges

Once again Glyndebourne delivered an evening of pure delight, this time in two halves. First the lascivious watch-mender’s wife and her would be lovers reminded us that, whilst music will always be at the forefront of what Glyndebourne does, it is seldom at the expense of great acting. Stephanie d’Oustrac as the sluttish Concepcion was superb, not just saucy but down and dirty. Elliot Madore played the simple muleteer with such comic skill that it was hard not to focus solely on him, his beautiful voice contrasting so much with his farcical presence. The set too was superb, a wild array of ridiculous clocks and general bric a brac. I have never laughed so much at the opera.

The second work, also by Ravel, was far darker, an eerie fantasy world in which a naughty boy, Khatouna Gadelia, is haunted by the inanimate and living victims of his bad behaviour. Again stunning singing from soloists and chorus, too many to mention, especially when you want to talk about the visual experience. Barbara de Limburger, Joe Adam, Laurent Pelly and Jean-Jacques Delmotte have created a world in which our perceptions are tested, scale is acted and played with, and objects come believably to life. In one scene the ripped toile de joie wallpaper, a peasant landscape, is portrayed by the chorus who grieve for their missing pastel-coloured sheep and goats. In the end of course the boy is redeemed by a single act of kindness. This is magic of the kind that Glyndebourne, with its policy of finding the very best creative teams, can always pull off with style.

Glyndebourne
6 August 2012
[Rating: 5/5]
Andrew Kay