Opera notes: events to look out for in 2012

Abstract

Working in primary care, we are used to combining data gleaned from different sources, sometimes simultaneously; melding the spoken word, (including hesitations, pacing, and emphasis) with body language, and observational physical examination, to name but a few. So it can be in art; opera offers a multi-media experience, with real-time data streams of words, melody, rhythm, scene, lighting, all in combination. Sometimes the music tells you what's happening, when the words don't add up. So; familiar, but different; another way, perhaps a refreshing one, of thinking anew about the problems we all face. Can I share with you some upcoming performances you might consider, either as a neophyte or an addict, or something in between …? Tickets are already on sale for the final months of the Royal Opera's season, and the highlight is undoubtedly Berlioz's epic Les Troyens, which he never saw performed in its entirety. Beginning with the Wooden Horse, and ending with the death of abandoned Dido, this charts Aeneas' destiny towards Rome. Spectacular musical and scenic effects are invoked, personal tragedy (and an erotic fantasy) are played out. Think Aida, on a bigger canvas; the tunes are just as good, too. The cast is exceptional. David McVicar will undoubtedly bring vivid production values, and Pappano will ensure an electric performance of one of the 19th century's forgotten glories, ‘rediscovered’ in seminal productions in the 1960s in London and Glasgow. Edinburgh International Festival 2012. The Makropulos Case. Opera North. 11 & 13 August. Photo: Ylva Kihlberg by Natascha Thiara Rydvald. The summer festivals are also selling now; apart from the ‘known known’ of Glyndebourne, I would direct your attention to Grange Park and its offshoot Neville Holt in Leicestershire, and to that other jewel, the Buxton Festival. A few days here really is as restorative as taking the waters. Richard Strauss's Intermezzo, a curious autobiographical account of his own stormy marriage to Pauline, rarely performed, has a double bill of Sibelius and Rimsky-Korsakov as one of its neighbours; for those not fixated on opera, there are lots of literary and other musical treats, as well as the physical delights of the Peaks — lots of fresh air! Further north, the Edinburgh Festival gathers together things from the UK regions and the EU. From Leeds comes Opera North's Makroupolos Case, a sort of end-of-life conundrum concerning an enigmatic diva and a potion. More potions feature in the Welsh's Tristan and Isolde, (the performances they bring to Edinburgh might enable some doubters to appreciate the truly transcendent nature of a work sometimes overwhelmed by the physical attributes of singers capable of singing it. This is one of the origins of the famous ‘it ain't all over til …’ aphorism). From the Aix Festival, William Christie brings Charpentier's David et Jonathas, which was composed 200 years previously, concerning yet another doomed love; this operatic rarity will almost certainly be given a ravishingly beautiful performance. So, lots of people working through partner strife, with a number of outcomes. And a lot of wonderful music!