English National Opera 1999/2000 Season
Date: 22 July 1999
The English National Opera has announced its repertory for the 1999/2000 season. Our Whatsonstage.com opera correspondent Keith McDonnell looks forward to some exciting productions at the London Coliseum....
With the ENO now in safe hands under Nicholas Payne and Paul Daniel, it comes as no surprise that their plans for the 1999-2000 season are both ambitious and eclectic. There are no fewer than nine new productions, including one world premiere and two works never intended for the stage, as well as a large clutch of tried and trusted classics.
The first of which re-unites David Pountney and Mark Elder in a production of Weber's Der Freischutz.. Responsible for the Powerhouse regime in the 80s, the two have not worked together since 1993. Theatrically, it should be a good show, but apart from Gidon Saks as Caspar and Lisa Milne as Aennchen, the cast looks a bit weak.
Deborah Warner directs two works, neither of which were intended for the stage. The first of these is Janacek's spellbinding song cycle The Diary of One who Vanished. With Ian Bostridge singing the role of the young man, accompanied by Julius Drake on the piano, this should not be missed. The second is Bach's St. John Passion which is being presented to mark the millennium as well as Bach's 250th anniversary. Intended for liturgical performance, it will be interesting to see how it comes to life on stage.
Handel opera makes another welcome return to the Coliseum, this time in the guise of Alcina, which is being mounted to honour the opening of the Royal Opera House. Expert Handelian Charles Mackerras conducts with a top draw cast including Joan Rodgers, Lisa Milne and Sarah Connolly. David Macvicar directs - hopefully not making a dog's breakfast out of Handel as he did with Manon a few seasons ago.
Following rave reviews in Leeds, Richard Jones' Opera North production of Pelleas and Melisande joins the repertory conducted by Daniel and starring Garry Magee and, yes, Joan Rodgers (well she is Paul Daniel's wife after all). Elijah Mosshinsky returns to ENO after a long absence to re-direct his WNO production of Verdi's early opera Ernani, which visually will be a treat, but on paper the cast does not seem particularly interesting.
Mark Morris returns with his dance company to stage a double bill of Dido and Aeneas and Virgi Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts - surely a first for any professional company in the UK.
But the two undisputed highlights for me will be the first staging of Adam's Nixon in China, which brings director Peter Sellars to ENO for the first time, and the world premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage's The Silver Tassie. Sellars can be wayward in most of the repertoire he directs, but when he hits the mark (as in his incredible Theodora at Glyndebourne), the results can be shattering. He directed the world premiere in Houston to great acclaim so expectations are high. And Turnage is one of the most distinguised of British composers. His first opera Greek was brilliant and no doubt The Silver Tassie will be too. Daniel conducts and the cast is strong, including Gerald Finley and Vivian Tierney. The season opens with Daniel conducting Der Rosenkavalier with the fabulous Yvonne Kenny as the Marschallin.
Other revivals are Orfeo, Figaro's Wedding, King Priam, La Boheme, Peter Grimes, The Magic Flute, The Pearl Fishers, Madam Butterfly, Eugene Onegin and L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.
All in all, it looks like a good, strong season for the ENO, especially with the revivals and some valuable additions to the repertory.
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