REVIEW: Susanna, Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre
Rare airing for Handel opera at Theatre Royal
A story of an attractive young woman wronged by lascivious older men is both horribly current and as old as the hills, or at least the ancient scriptures.
Handel took the Old Testament tale of Susanna and the Elders and gave it the full Baroque treatment, launching it on a thrilling torrent of music for voices and orchestra.
To be frank, it could be told in a fraction of the time but if you love Handel you’ll forgive the glorious repetition and go with the flow.
Even with eyes closed this single performance at the Theatre Royal would have been something to cherish – wonderful singing and the orchestra, rich in strings and harpsichord, sprightly and bang on the money.
But a co-production between Opera North and Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre promised a spectacle and so it transpired.
There was so much happening on stage at times that it was hard to know where to look with the dancers lithely amplifying the singers’ every move.
Throw in the Opera North Chorus and a BSL translator, blending beautifully into the picture, and the stage at times looked more packed than the auditorium. Full marks to the dancers for finding space to move.
At the heart of it all was Susanna, another role for the wonderful Anna Dennis, an Opera North star whose voice would have sent Handel into paroxysms of joy and pretty much did the same for us.
This was the woman cruelly wronged, the young wife harassed at bath time by elderly peeping toms who, when rumbled, throw the blame onto her so she’s very nearly sent to her death.
Husband Joacim, sung by counter-tenor James Hall, doesn’t seem overly inclined to contest the matter when told Susanna’s been unfaithful, and in any case seems ill-equipped to do so.
The Chorus, representing the populace, come forward in turn to smear dirty hand prints on Susanna’s white gown – a neat touch – while she bravely (and over and over again, this being Handel on a roll) accepts her fate, claiming innocence will triumph in the end.
Then up pops precocious young Daniel (this being from the Book of Daniel in some forms of the Bible) to make that happen, here in the person of soprano Amy Freston dressed a little like a leprechaun.
In the blink of an eye the tables are turned on Susanna’s accusers and the Chorus, of course, are now right behind her.
Revenge is sweet as Elder One and Elder Two, sung by Colin Judson and Karl Huml who can take credit for playing the characters everyone loves to hate, are manhandled off stage, one with his trousers down.
You’ll think it’s all over, Susanna and Joacim back in a tender embrace, but it’s not quite. Well, now, surely? No, not just yet. Handel gave the impression of having enjoyed himself as a composer and his gift to us just keeps on giving. Time for one more exhilarating harpsichord trill.
Someone told me before I went to see this that a friend had told her Susanna was one of the most boring operas she’d ever seen (whether opera or oratorio is a debate for another day).
Clearly this wasn’t the production she saw. They socked it to us – director Olivia Fuchs, conductor Johanna Soller, the peerless Anna Dennis and all.
If you want to see it now, you’ll have to travel to Salford or Nottingham.
Opera North will be back in Newcastle in March with The Marriage of Figaro and Peter Grimes. Check the Theatre Royal website for details.