Page 149 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

It’s funny how what you see affects what you hear: Robin Ticciati urges ardour,
intense pianissimos and sleight-of-hand mood changes from the LPO, superbly impactful in the
agitation that kicks off Act Three, but the hard work on detail is much diminished by Michieletto’s
take.Pity Ticciati: alongside the successes, he's had so many production turkeys hung around his
neck, most recently Claus Guth's La clemenza di Tito and Stefan Herheim's Pelléas et
Mélisande.

Are there fewer string players than usual in the pit? It sounded so; the bigger list in the
programme is presumably for the fuller forces to be unleashed later in the season on the concert
staging of Tristan und Isolde. Again, we observe (in this case with our ears), but aren’t allowed to
be deeply moved. Not that the first night of a Glyndebourne season since May 2019 was
anything but pleasurable, regardless of wind and rain. Some of the uglier excrescences on the
lawns have gone, and an elegant open tent provides easy and pleasant cover if you need to
bring in your picnic from inclement weather (we did). Even many of the sculptures this year, by
Halima Cassell, work well with the surroundings. Abundant staff are super-helpful and seem as
glad as we and the artists are to be there. All that has to be part of the experience. For that and
for the vision to go ahead with four productions plus a concert staging, and concerts, we’re truly
thankful.

• Káťa Kabanová at Glyndebourne until 19 June
• More opera reviews on theartsdesk