A red-blooded Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at the Royal Opera House — review

With no ballet at London’s Royal Opera House during July, the opera company is at peak output. This week has brought two more operas into the schedule, a revival of the classic verismo duo, Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, in the main house, and the premiere of Laura Bowler’s The Blue Woman downstairs in the smaller Linbury Theatre.

Against the odds, the Italian double bill delivered the goods. Illness has been running rife through the cast and there had been barely a rehearsal when music director Antonio Pappano had not been singing at least one of the roles himself. Then, with only a few days to go, the husband-and-wife team of Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak flew in to the rescue.

Taking over from an indisposed Jonas Kaufmann is not an enviable task and Alagna is one of the few with the star appeal to do it. As Canio in Pagliacci, he sounds more than a touch strident these days, but the give-everything-you-have vocal commitment carried him through with panache. Kurzak gamely took on both Santuzza in Cav and Nedda in Pag, very different assignments. Though she, too, threw herself into Santuzza, her light soprano sounded exhausted before the end and it was a relief to find that she still had voice left to come back for a bright, intense Nedda.

The Sicilian sun burns down in this very Italian pair of productions, first seen in 2015, and they pack a red-blooded dramatic punch. Pappano is back as conductor, at his high-octane best, and there are some other strengths among the two casts. SeokJong Baek, who stepped in as Saint-Saëns’s Samson in May, capped that with a still more clarion-clear Turiddu. Mattia Olivieri made an appealing Silvio and Dimitri Platanias a sturdy Alfio/Tonio. And where would this show be without Elena Zilio as Mamma Lucia? She positively sizzles with Italian verismo to her fingertips. Please note further changes of cast to come, including the hoped-for return of Kaufmann as Turiddu.

★★★★☆

During the pandemic, the internet was awash with brand new, small-scale operas tailored for online audiences. This was a time to address up-to-the-minute political issues, usually with arty filming and words that made a bigger impact than the music. The Blue Woman, libretto by Laura Lomas, music by Laura Bowler, is very much in that line, though now intended for live performance.

The subject matter is the aftermath of a rape and we follow a woman through the streets of London as she tries to find the self she has left behind. The accompanying film is atmospheric, though there were many others just like it during the pandemic; it forms the main thrust of Katie Mitchell’s production.

At stage level, four female singers sit, or sometimes stand, alongside four cellists, while the film is projected above, and the surtitles above that. This is a problem as the sung words are often inaudible, so getting to grips with the issues is a challenge. Otherwise, the inner intensity of the music fits the subject and the performance from all involved is stylish and professional.

★★★☆☆

‘Cavalleria rusticana’/‘Pagliacci’ to July 20; ‘The Blue Woman’ to July 11, roh.org.uk