The ultimate tribute to the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death is being undertaken by English Touring Opera this October, who are also celebrating their not inconsiderable 30th anniversary. Founded in 1980, and initially known as Opera 80, English Touring Opera has played an important role not only in bringing operas, both popular and less well known to the regions, but also in developing the careers of young artists, who have gone on to achieve great success in their own right. Some of the singers who have benefited from the spirited work of this company include Sarah Connolly, Susan Bickley, Mary Plazas and Christopher Purvis, to name but a few.

The Handel anniversary hasn’t, if truth be told, been given the most extraordinary of celebratory commemorations. The Royal Opera fielded us a miserly and poorly cast Acis and Galatea (with the honourable exception of Matthew Rose), a token gesture if ever there was one. However, the English National Opera will be mounting a participatory production of Messiah at the end of November. The London Handel Festival has, as always, done sterling work, with a very memorable Theodora springing instantly to mind. But, if Handel has been given somewhat scant attention by our leading operatic institutions, then we can safely say that English Touring Opera have gone all out on a baroque extravaganza, which more than compensates for the paucity of productions elsewhere! We can expect to see Handel’s Flavio, Teseo, Ariodante, Tolomeo and Alcina all fully staged and on tour. The shows begin in London, but will travel to Malvern, Exeter, Bath, Snape Maltings and Cambridge.

When I met James Conway, who is both the artistic director and chief executive of English Touring Opera, my first and somewhat inevitable question, was why undertake such a marathon Handelfest?: “We had done many of these productions before, so the possibility was always there, but I wanted to mount them with new singers, plus I have also been wanting to stage Flavio for some time now. Being a touring company, we can also bring these Handel productions to places outside of London, who perhaps would not ordinarily get the opportunity to see these works fully staged. There also exists the challenge of convincing people that Handel’s operas are in fact very different from each other, in the same way that Verdi’s operas are all different. They have their own unique musical and dramatic identity; there exists infinite variety within Handel’s output. I’ve never understood the statement “oh I don’t like Handel opera”, as if somehow they were all identical. There is to my mind, just as much variety in his operas, as can be found in Wagner’s. There is of course a form with Handel, but what is so inventive about his compositional style, is how he can change that form, subvert it even, and transform the piece dramatically. He is a tremendously exciting composer.”

Of course the mechanics of actually staging five operas entails enormous precision in the planning of rehearsals. I asked James Conway to tell us a little about how they have logistically prepared for this undertaking, and whether they rehearsed all five of the operas simultaneously?: “Well we started with Teseo, because it is the opera we performed most recently back in 2007. Most of the people who are involved in this Handelfest are performing two roles and covering a third. This is where the planning starts by fixing a framework around multiple role performances. The rehearsals which began with Teseo are followed by a break, and then the principals are back for a week to polish their roles, which in turn is followed by rehearsals for the Tolomeo. Afterwards, Alcina, Ariodante and Flavio all follow in a similar fashion. At no point are there more than three productions in rehearsal, which is pretty good going! We effectively have one big group of singers in the studio, with two sets present, one at either end. It’s a continual process, and is of course very challenging, but it’s the only way to achieve the results we require in the timeframe available. I actually began the schedule for this about 18 months ago, which really helped with making decisions about when to engage the singers, as well as factoring in other things like trying to avoid tiredness, and the speed with which the singers can assimilate both the production and their character.”

English Touring Opera has always had a reputation for fostering and developing emerging talent, and this year’s Handelfest is no exception, with talented young singers like Nathan Vale, Clint van der Linde and Natasha Jouhl performing alongside more experienced colleagues. I asked James Conway whether this was an important aspect of the company’s work?: “What we offer is very serious exposure to a role, whether you are in the chorus, or if you are a principal. But it only really works as long as the right amount of emerging singers are balanced with more experienced artists, such as Yvonne Howard and Ann Mason. This calibre of artist provides the younger singer with someone from whom they can learn, whether that be about performance practice, or how to manage the different demands of being a singer. Some of our experienced artists like Ann, even sometimes give their younger colleagues coaching sessions, passing on the benefit of their considerable knowledge. It is so important that they have this example, which in turns provides us with the right balance that we always strive to attain.”

Aside from being the Handel anniversary it is also English Touring Opera’s 30th anniversary. I asked James what have been the company’s highlights over this period?: “Well I’ve only been with the company for about seven years now, but I did attend shows before then. On paper, I would say Richard Jones’s production of The Rakes Progress, and Stephen Metcalfe’s L’elisir d’amore, which were both great shows. L’elisir featured Mary Plazas in what I believe to be her first show after leaving the Opera Studio. In the following season when it went on tour, it starred Susan Gritton; such strong casting. Since I joined the company, I would say that although I haven’t been entirely fearless, I have enjoyed being bold. The operas of Janacek, Handel and Donizetti have all stood out in my mind as being especially good. I loved staging The Cunning Little Vixen, Jenufa and Katya Kabanova, which all did extremely well.”

Next year promises to be an equally engaging mix of repertoire from one of the UKs most exciting opera companies, with productions of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, there is no doubt that the upcoming Handelfest should feature very high indeed in the calendar of every adventurous opera-goer. Whether you are a committed baroque enthusiast, or just a plain lover of absolutely wonderful music, composed by a man whose melodic invention is all but nigh unsurpassable, make a bee-line for the nearest theatre on the production tour. With prices starting at just £10, it’s should prove to be an exciting experience.

The Handelfest begins on Thursday the 15th of October at the Britten Theatre, with Flavio. For more details, please click here to be taken to English Touring Opera website.

Antony Lias
Opera Britannia

To read our reviews of the ETO Handelfest, please click any of the opera titles below:

Flavio
Teseo
Tolomeo
Alcina
Ariodante