The Rake’s Progress

Published Tuesday 8 July 2008 at 10:55 by George Hall

Already seen in Brussels, Lyon and San Francisco, Robert Lepage’s production of Stravinsky’s retelling of Hogarth’s tale, to a libretto by Auden and his partner Chester Kallman, finally comes to Covent Garden.

Yet somewhere along the way, it seems to have lost its focus and gone a little fuzzy around the edges. Perhaps this is partly the result of one of the show’s weaker elements, the conducting of Thomas Ades, which needs more dynamism. The show doesn’t maintain enough momentum.

That said, there is still a great deal to enjoy, especially in the lively visuals of Carl Fillion’s sets and Francois Barbeau’s costumes, which evoke the Las Vegas and Hollywood of the opera’s 1951 premiere with wit and style, and in a generally excellent cast.

Charles Castronovo supplies the youth and good looks to make him a credible innocent abroad and sings with some finesse. He’s perfectly partnered by Sally Matthews’s pristine Anne Trulove, whose Act I aria is a highlight and who retains sympathy all evening.

Darren Jeffery does not register sufficiently as her concerned but mildly authoritarian father and John Relyea’s Nick Shadow could do with more charisma. But Patricia Bardon’s Baba the Turk somehow finds humanity within her over-the-top personality, Kathleen Wilkinson’s Mother Goose looks well capable of running a brothel, and Peter Bronder’s auctioneer Sellem is dapper and fun.