Pegasus Opera at the Royal College of Music, London, July 26
By Mahima Macchione
This summer the Royal College of Music hosted Pegasus Opera in an intriguing double bill of ultra-rare works. The evening opened with Philip Hagemann’s one-act The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play of the same title. On stage, a beautiful full-length veil with a printed portrait of Mary Fitton, maid-of-honour to Queen Elizabeth I, set the scene for the performance (design by Rae Smith). At the time of the writing of Shaw’s play, Fitton was thought to be the ‘Dark Lady’ who is the addressee of two of Shakespeare’s sonnets, but there are now other candidates and scholars continue to debate. In essence, the piece is about an imagined encounter between Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I and the ‘Dark Lady’.
The opera, written for just four voices, has a light and delicate opening which drew us gracefully into an unusual score. Robert Winslade Anderson opened as the Warder guarding the Palace at Whitehall, with a rich, dark and ample bass. He was soon met by Charne Rochford as Shakespeare (with unmissable bright blue socks), who was initially there for a night-time rendezvous with the ‘Dark Lady’. Rochford’s Heldentenor has a singular colour with baritonal qualities, and he was an engaging Shakespeare. He soon unwittingly bumped into Sarah Champion as an assured Queen Elizabeth with a memorable redhead wig and nightgown. The encounter moves him: he is impressed by her sophisticated use of language and jots down several of her throwaway phrases (lines that we now know from Macbeth and other works). The inspiration is mutual: it’s the beginning of an imagined collaboration, hidden under his sole name. The picture is then completed by the arrival of the ‘Dark Lady’—sung by Alison Buchanan, artistic director of Pegasus and an accomplished soprano—at this point no longer welcomed by Shakespeare, who has swiftly replaced one gentlewoman with another.
Ethel Smyth’s Fête Galante followed, described by the composer as a ‘dance-dream’. This original piece is a 45-minute neo-Baroque opera-ballet where aristocracy meets commedia dell’arte characters. A love triangle between the characters slowly unfolds into a deadly drama. Smith’s costumes here felt generic and could have been more stylish. Anderson’s striking performance as the King demonstrated an impressive ability to move into a role that requires a commanding stage presence; here he displayed a powerful bass, richer in the lower register—even if it sounded a touch hollow at times. Buchanan was a regal and expressive Queen, but with occasionally intrusive vibrato. The lively Columbine stood out, sung by Marie Cayeux with a bell-like soprano and limpid high notes. Monwabisi Lindi sang the Lover with charm and Tom Randle stood his ground well as Harlequin. Much dramatic skill was shown by Massimo Modoni’s Pierrot. The ensemble was smoothly directed by Femi Elufowoju Jr, including several dance numbers. The conductor Odaline de la Martinez offered an engaged reading of the score and the choral singing was particularly well focused, including a brief a cappella chorus, an original touch by Smyth.
