The Stage

Tamerlano

Published Monday 8 March 2010 at 10:05 by George Hall

The Royal Opera was faced with a problem when Placido Domingo pulled out of its first staging of Handel’s Tamerlano. The production was very much predicated on Domingo’s vocal personality and appeal in the major role of the Emperor Bajazet, and this was likely to be one of his final appearances with the company. His illness and the need for an immediate operation put paid to all that.

Renata Pokupic (Irene) in Tamerlano at the Royal Opera House Photo: Tristram Kenton

American tenor Kurt Streit, already due to sing the role at two performances, stepped into the remainder. Streit is a fine artist, but neither vocally nor dramatically does he raise the role of the fallen emperor with a burning hatred of his oppressor, the shepherd turned tyrant Tamerlano, to the level of tragic grandeur required.

Much of what surrounds him is vocally drab. Dutch mezzo Christianne Stotijn makes a disappointing debut as Tamerlano and Christine Schafer is awkward as Bajazet’s daughter Asteria, whom Tamerlano wants to marry.

Giving the show some much needed vocal authority are Sara Mingardo as Asteria’s beloved, the Greek prince Andronico - her rich contralto consistently impressive - and Croatian mezzo Renata Pokupic as Tamerlano’s betrothed Irene, princess of Trabisond, in a finely sung and acted performance. It’s not enough to save the show.

Neither is the show worth saving. Designed by Richard Hudson, Graham Vick’s staging, first seen in Florence in 2001, is flippant, fussy and lacking in focus. Ivor Bolton’s conducting is correct but dutiful. Tamerlano is one of Handel’s greatest operas, but it feels a very long, slow evening here.