There is often a moment during an opera or oratorio which crystallises the performance as a whole, a litmus paper embodying the ethos of the evening. In Friday's Elijah, the opening event of the Ryedale Festival, it came with the contralto aria, O Rest In The Lord.
Where the angel might have offered consolation to the downhearted Elijah, she was more or less rushed off her feet. It was a pity, since the combined forces of the Rodolfus and Manchester Chamber choirs, strongly underpinned by the Orchestra of Opera North, all under the festival's artistic director, Justin Doyle, promised much more. The enforced absence of the announced soprano and baritone was undoubtedly unsettling, though Bibi Heal and John Cunningham stepped into the breach.
The performance was semi-staged, soloists coming and going when needed, appearing from varying angles or sounding unseen from the nave. So far, so imaginative. Less admirable was the choir constantly leaving the stage, only to return moments later for its next assignment. It was distracting, and contributed to a restive atmosphere.
Cunningham's Elijah was suitably swaggering when taunting Baal's prophets, less engaging at quieter moments. Mark Le Brocq's forthright tenor and Morag Boyle's firm contralto added zest, Miss Heal was consistently competent, though with an understandably nervous edge. Flynn Le Brocq's (hidden) treble was ideally cherubic. The choirs responded lustily to a conductor seemingly on the verge of plunging into a swimming pool. Good strong stuff, but rarely subtle.
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