(4 / 5)
I’ve followed New Palace Opera for around a year. I was very taken with their Walküre chunks last year and a Peter Grimes both proved great efforts made put into challenging work.
In a wintery London, a concert in Waterloo would see agony and tragedy in equal measure. George Templeton Strong and his At Sunset got its UK premiere on this night. Heavily owing a lot to Mahler, its unease and pain was the vein of the whole thing. Effective, if it felt a little ropey to start with. Then Mahler would arrive properly with his Totenfeier, or Funeral-Rites. No one does the dreary and existential like old Gustav. The mood never shifted from the negative, I guess its name would suggest the tone. Stirring in nature, the players and a Jonathan Finney as maestro, held the drama of this fleeting passage.
The stand out would end with Stravinsky and his cantata Oedipus Rex. A first hearing for me and one I’ve wanted to hear for decades, this was evocative and a natural drama from the Greek source material. It being sing in Latin doesn’t take away either. We had a solem Sophie Duval as narrator guide us through what would be a difficult following even with the story well known. The entire work excudes a faithful Greek musical palette for its hour length.
James Schouten was cast very well as the titular character who’s downfall is his own doing through pride, ignorance and a general stupidity. Vocally, as a piercing tenor he melded well into the role, it was a pleasure to hear him live. In the strong male support, this Greek chorus saw figures come and go singing solos to strange effect. I saw few blips throughout this Oedpius. I also found Mae Heydorn as Jocasta, wife of Oedipus, to be a another highlight. A mezzo which had a grounding, yet was still compelling to the ear.
Well done to all involved in hearing this rare Stravinsky classic.
