Of course, while Handel’s operas are very much the flavour of the moment, Vivaldi’s have endured centuries of neglect. With a performance of Theodora already underway upstairs in the Royal Opera’s main space, it was clearly Baroque Night at the Garden. Here, it was the stark, powerful simplicity that was so impressive, a canvas upon which Sinéad Wallace’s lighting could at times create the most remarkable impact as well as allowing for the visual variety. We met Adele Thomas’s superb direction skills before in Handel’s Berenice in 2019 (review click here), whose cast also included Claire Booth. From the start, violence is present – we even see Tamerlano urinating (with his back turned to the audience) on Bajazet. A massive ceiling hook dominates the stage – Bajazet spends most of his time attached to it, subjected to various types of cruelty (just one miscalculation of Tamerlano’s punch, too obviously staged). A lot was riding on this regarding the future of Vivaldi productions in London – this was the first of his operas to be staged at the Royal Opera House. (CC) Gianluca Margheri (Bajazet), James Laing (Tamerlano) and Eric Jurenas (Andronico) (c) Kip CarrollĬonfined within the same walls, violence, rancour … Covid lockdown fallout, anyone? Adele Thomas’s staging of Vivaldi’s Bajazet for Irish National Opera seen here at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre is incredibly powerful. Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. United Kingdom Vivaldi, Bajazet: Soloists, Irish Baroque Orchestra / Peter Whelan (director).
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