Martha is a diamond tiara
MARTHA (Opera South)
Haslemere Hall
Wednesday, February 25
Opera South's Musical Director, Tom Higgins, described last year's production of Balfe's Bohemian Girl as a string of melodic pearls. I wouldn't argue with him for a moment, but that being the case, this year's revival, Flotow's almost forgotten Martha, must be a diamond tiara.
Given last week in a co-production by Richard Fawkes with Northampton Festival Opera, Martha is teeming with delightful and famous arias, attractive choruses and thrilling ensembles. Yes, its plot is slight, but just why it has been so neglected over the past half-century by our leading companies has always been a complete mystery to me.
Still, here it was, coming up as fresh as a daisy, right from the melting horn solo in the overture. Thankfully, too, Fawkes's production maintained all its period charm, with no attempt at updating, and Higgins's re-orchestration also remained largely faithful to the original score. All I missed from the Guildford Philharmonic was the harp part.
Tom Raskin and Anthony Cleverton were excellent as the two young suitors, the former rising easily to the challenge of the one aria from Martha that everyone knows, either as M'appari, Ach so fromm or, as here, Ah, so pure.
The bass, Anthony Cleverton, is obviously one to watch, easily commanding the stage with his genial presence and singing a rousing Drinking Song.
Stephanie Lewis was a flirtatious Nancy, developing both her character and her powerful chest voice as the opera progressed, but now I came to the, for me at least, the one disappointment of the evening.
The role of Martha requires a dramatic coloratura soprano, and at the same time the melting, lyrical quality needed for her famous aria.
It would be idle for me to pretend that Claire Surman possessed all these qualities, although she had a warm, attractive stage manner and sang The Last Rose of Summer appealingly.
Yet all too often, above the stave and under pressure, an over-bright, metallic sound emerged, clouding Guy Davenport's new translation with its heavy vibrato.
The smaller parts were all efficiently played and the chorus was in excellent form, obviously relishing its many opportunities.
I came out of the hall humming any one of four or five memorable tunes, and hoping that Martha won't be put back into the cupboard for another 50 years.
Tom Muckley
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