On this opening night of the season, the orchestra and chorus bedrock of the company were in exceptionally strong form, honouring Verdi and sounding as if their lives depended on it, which, in fact they do, these being the jobs under threat for lack of funding.
The vengeful curse placed by Count Monterone on the Duke of Mantua and his court jester Rigoletto must seem to mirror the double curse placed on the company by the respective Arts Councils of England and Wales.
Perhaps the necessity of maintaining a defiant stance in this situation goes some way to explain the air of manic intensity that felt to be the defining element of Adele Thomas's direction: flailing arms and wild gesturing, exaggerated movements ostensibly heightening tension.
Over the three acts, cynicism and calculated cruelty were the most potent elements, with Annemarie Woods's starkly minimal set and curious array of costumes mixing historical periods to suggest that society's moral failings are a constant throughout time.
[
Collection
]
[
|
...
]