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Death in Venice

Published Friday 25 May 2007 at 18:15 by George Hall

ENO’s new music director Edward Gardner makes a welcome arrival at the Coliseum for this production of Britten’s final opera. His reading combines finesse and nuance with dynamism, and makes for a magical performance of the score. How the company will be heartened by his advent.

One of his tasks must be to address diction, which has yet another mixed night. But the company’s ongoing Britten series is strengthened by Deborah Warner’s powerfully atmospheric and articulate production, which shows her on superb form. The narrative comes over strongly, the individual acting performances are distinguished, and the varied moods of the piece and its Venetian ambience wonderfully suggested in Tom Pye’s superb sets, Chloe Obolensky’s immaculate period costumes, and Jean Kalman’s endlessly evocative lighting.

Ian Bostridge suggests Gustav von Aschenbach’s isolation and gradual loss of control with skill - if only he had more colour in the tone. Peter Coleman-Wright pulls off the feat of creating the seven characters who push Aschenbach along his fatal path with enormous aplomb. Iestyn Davies brings an unearthly quality to the Voice of Apollo, made palpable by his appearance on stage (the role is usually sung offstage), though his deity needs some kind of visual representation.

The dancers define another mode of existence that Aschenbach longs to share, with Kim Brandstrup’s choreography matching Britten’s oriental sound world perfectly. All in all a great night for ENO, and for Britten.

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