It didn't help that I had to miss the first act of Così at the Royal Opera last night. Then I bumped into a friend who saw the first act and decided the second act was not worth staying for. So when I sat down I saw the same old Jonathan Miller production, I thought it really was getting tired - the freshness of the production has gone. Thomas Allen was ill and William Shimell stepped in as Don Alfonso who did a fine job (of what I saw anyway). The singing was fine, but it needed more. The playing in the orchestra was ok, but lacked fizz. Time to move on.
Michael Levine's set design for Dialogues des Carmélites was minimalist. Actually, was there any set design? I suppose the director Robert Carsen was clever at introducing formation of human figures in many different ways to suggest the context of the opera. It kind of worked. Blanche, sung by Sally Matthews, was pretty good. Though I did find the whole work quite tedious - I think the intimate nature of the dialogues needed a small and intimate performing space i.e. not the Royal Opera House. The ending was worth waiting for. Dramatic. Poignant.
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