Bajazet – Vivaldi – Royal Opera House – Review

Last Updated on February 5, 2022

Vivaldi’s Bajazet – A joint production with Irish National Opera

This seems to be Baroque week at the Royal Opera House.  Monday was the first night for Theodora – a stunningly contemporised work from Handel by Katie Mitchell which included pole dancing and moments that could have come straight from Pulp Fiction.  On Friday, the first night of Bajazet, a pastiche opera by Vivaldi, is the start of a short run at the Linbury Theatre which sold out almost before tickets were available to the general public.  This production, directed by Adele Thomas (Berenice and Apollo and Daphne) is a co-production with Irish National Opera, already critically acclaimed for Vivaldi’s Griselda in 2019.  Thus, the band is the Irish Baroque Orchestra, directed by Peter Whelan. That in itself made for rather special production.  It’s rare to see a line-up that includes natural horns in an orchestra pit these days and the eleven strong team performed admirably throughout, with the continuo perfectly in synch with the singers despite the florid and extended dramatic baroque lines.

Although Vivaldi wrote at least fifty operas, we seldom see any of those which remain performed.  My rather dog-eared copy of Kobbe’s Opera Guide has not a single entry for the composer who originally started to write opera as a sideline to make money! Bajazet was written as a kind of vocal showcase and includes several arias written by other popular contemporaries of Vivaldi, including the haunting ‘Sposa son disprezzata’ by Geminiano Giacomelli and other works by Johann Adolf Hasse and by Riccardo Broschi, the brother of Farinelli. 

The cast of six is very much one of equals.  It includes two counter-tenors – the role of Tamerlano is sung by James Laing while Eric Jurenas is the Greek prince Andronicus.  Laing, posturing brilliantly throughout, brings much to the production from his acting and dancing while Jurenas’s mellifluous vocals soar effortlessly and, on the smaller stage of the Linbury at the Royal Opera House, fills the auditorium. 

Claire Booth, who sang Berenice at the Opera House for Adele Thomas’s production, displays an incredible and dramatic coloratura range as Irene with some stunning baroque ornamentation in the da capo passages, while Niamh O’Sullivan is a poised, poignant and convincing Asteria. Gianluca Margheri as Bajazet is majestic, a caged lion who refuses to be defeated, even in death.  A rich bass-baritone with nimble flexibility that is more often associated with a higher voice.  Finally, Aoife Miskelly holds everything together and sings magnificently too, while her mannered acting has just a twist of Irish charm.

Bajazet is an extraordinary story that starts at the point when The Ottoman Emperor Bajazet has been defeated by Tamerlano, the Turko-Mongol conqueror, who has occupied Bajazet’s royal palace in Bursa. Trying to protect his daughter Asteria by asking the  Greek prince Andronicus, an ally of Tamerlano, to take care of her backfires when it turns out that both Andronica and Tamerlano have fallen for her.  The plot thickens – Tamerlano proposes to Asteria and renounces his vows to Irene, Princess of Trebizond.  Bajazet is horrified and pledges his own death in exchange for his daughter’s freedom.  But, Asteria has other ideas and agrees to marry Tamerlano while secretly plotting to murder him on their wedding day.  It’s only when Bajazet tries to intervene that she reveals her intentions and Tamerlano sentences them both to death.  Bajazet preempts his death sentence by taking poison and Tamerlano ultimately pardons both Asteria and Andronico but it isn’t enough for the remaining cast…

Adele Thomas’s direction brings this production into the twenty-first century but loses nothing of its stylised baroque charm.  It’s an excellent example of how to make a show that was relevant when it was first performed in 1735 just as meaningful for today’s audience.  Simple staging with an abstract representation of Bajazet’s home, stunning costumes and a cast with no weak links makes for excellent entertainment, while the storyline lends itself to Thomas’s interpretation showcasing the power of women. 

While the Royal Opera Website lists every performance as sold out, you may find returns available. If not, we can recommend Theodora, also currently showing at the Royal Opera House, for a very contemporary take on Handel’s Oratorio with fine singing from soloists and chorus.

Bajazet runs from 4-12 February in the Linbury Theatre.

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London, WC2E 9DD For more information and tickets click here.