Two composers, two very different backgrounds, yet both with stories swirling with intrigue and rumour.
As the Glyndebourne returns to the Empire for its annual residence, tonight is an interesting showcase of arias from composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, sometimes nick-named the ‘Black Mozart’ alongside the legendary Requiem of the main man himself.
Part one focuses on Bologna, who may not have reached the heights of fame that Mozart would eventually achieve but still impressed many of his contemporaries with his abilities (Beethoven was reportedly a particular fan).
Director Simone Ibbett-Brown has cleverly combined elements of Bologne’s remarkable story – a Creole sone of a slave-woman Nanon and her Plantation owning master who travels to France to make his mark, initially receiving attention for his prowess in Fencing – with his music, to create a narrative of the Anonymous Lover being inspired by Bologne’s own unrealised love affair with a young lady of the court, Marie.
The story is brought to life by a small collection of singers whose vocal maturity belies their more youthful age. Performances by soprano Alexandra Lowe as Leontine and Luthando Qave as Ophemon are particularly strong.
And Darragh Hand is excellent as the initially cock-sure Joseph, recounting his experiences at court as he comes to terms the limits of his ambitions, faced with the fact that, for all its enlightenment, the court will never truly embrace a mixed-race man as one of their own.
Whilst we are given only snippets, the Anonymous Lover is a charming ‘rom-com’ of its time (and, with Mozart to follow, not difficult to draw some parallels to the maestro’s own Marriage of Figaro). Indeed, the light-hearted nature of the story is never more apparent than during the wave of giggles that greets the idea that arias of undying love have been written about someone called Colin.
It is an engaging and enjoyable whistlestop tour of what is clearly a life less ordinary and Bologne’s music is certainly beautiful leading one actress to remark ‘how can we not know who he is?’
A clue to that answer though comes from Part two, as conductor Stephanie Childress brings in the string players, and the opening strains of Mozart’s final composition, all the more fabled by his own death in the middle of writing it, fill the building.
The mythology around the piece has been immortalised in the work of Peter Shaffer; his play ‘Amadeus’ imagining a deep rivalry between Mozart and his contemporary Saleri, leading the latter to commission a requiem that will drive the former to his grave.
Mozart’s extraordinary ability is never clearer than in the fourth moment, the Offertorium. It is no surprise the audience is compelled to applause immediately following it. And of course, in another ‘tell’ of just how much he outstripped the other composers of the day, the closing movements just don’t have the same fluency, as the great composer’s input gives way to the work of his pupil Sussmayer.
But in the hands of the Glyndebourne it is still a triumph, taking us through dramatic crescendos through to quieter, spiritual moments of reflection. Particular praise must go to mezzo-soprano Rhiain Taylor who has stepped in at the last minute to cover for Amy Holyland, who has been taken ill.
Whatever the truth of Mozart’s final commission, it remains a demonstration of the genius of Mozart and the power of choral singing when at its most sublime.
Reviewer: Lou Steggals
Reviewed: 25th November 2022
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★