L'Amour de Loin

Synopsis

This combination of physical theatre and modern opera follows a 12th century troubadour’s search for love across a constantly changing theatrical landscape.

Our Review:

3 July 2009

Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin, in ENO’s production by “new wave” circus director Daniele Finzi Pasca, is a feast of silk-waving and aerial acrobatics. Whether it has any more substance than the parachute of material that shimmers across the auditorium at the very opening is debatable.

Not a lot happens in the convention of Courtly Love, the mediaeval antithesis of our modern craving for instant gratification, but it does lend itself to more drama than Amin Maalouf’s elegant but humourless text allows.

Based on the writings of 12th Century troubadour, Jaufré Rudel, the 2000 opera tells an inert tale of yearning across continents. In this production, produced in conjunction with equally far-flung partners (De Vlaamse Opera and the Canadian Opera Company), an excellent trio of principals (Roderick Williams, Joan Rodgers and Faith Sherman) are doubled, or rather tripled, by cavorting dressalikes.

This multiple casting...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

Simon - 12 July 2009:

I agree with many of the points made by Bazza. The staging was impressive, the music beautifully performed but the libretto was, at times, comical. I would have preferred to have pieced the meaning together in the original French but then that's not ENO's mission. Slow pace is not a problem for me (Debussy's 'Pelléas..' is one of my favourite operas) but I felt that, in the end, the production itself is inherently flawed. The 'dumb show' device was entirely unnecessary, the 'transfiguration' scene looked silly and the moment when Jaufré's death-bed took flight had my shoulders shaking! On the other hand, the staging of the sea-journey was impressive (and moving) and I was impressed by the opening music of the second act. A final point. I watched the first act from the upper circle but, having booked a seat with no leg room, managed to secure a seat in the stalls for the second act. Thank you to ENO for that. The change of viewing position allowed me, in the end, to concentrate more on the opera and less on the pain in my legs! An interesting, if slightly unsatisfactory, evening. ...

Read more and add your own review

Related Whatsonstage.com Articles

ENO Offers £20 tickets for Some Faraway Love More»