There have been many radical and memorable Handel productions in Britain over recent decades, though none of them has been by Richard Jones. Astonishingly, the new ENO Rodelinda is his first Handel in the UK, but it’s been worth the wait.
The usurping tyrant, Grimoaldo, is a mafia-style mobster whose outfit videos what goes on in a secret chamber and markets it. Handel’s Grimoaldo repents and hands back the kingdom to the real king, Bertarido, but Jones’s chilling ending suggests the new regime will be no less murderous.
Both noir thriller and surreal black comedy, Jones’s version lays on the humour like heavy mascara but at its best it’s inspired. Jeremy Herbert’s ingenious set, lit starkly by Mimi Jordan Sherrin, divides the stage area into as many as six compartments, allowing us to see persecutors and victims responding differently to surveillance and allowing for multiple doorslamming routines that hover between creepiness and slapstick.
The vocal stars of the show are Iestyn Davies, whose eloquent countertenor is deployed to poignant effect as Bertarido, and John Mark Ainsley, barely recognisable under a hairpiece that resembles a dead skunk (which comes alarmingly to life later in the evening) but superbly nuanced as the conscience-stricken Grimoaldo. Rebecca Evans is stylish as Rodelinda, but too often the tone coarsens under pressure. Susan Bickley, Richard Burkhard and Christopher Ainslie all contribute fine solos in other roles.
Given the necessary compromises with a modern-instrument theatre orchestra, Christian Curnyn gets impressive results in the pit. With a sparky translation by Amanda Holden, Curnyn and his singers spin a ravishing succession of arias against Jones’s startling backdrop.
Until Mar 15 (020 7845 9300, eno.org)
