The bucolic surroundings of Garsington Opera – complete with stately home, sumptuous gardens, a lake and its own herd of deer to marvel at during the long interval – should jar fundamentally with an opera set in a dingy prison, whose title role is a woman disguised as a man on a mission to rescue her unfairly shackled husband.
Yet Garsington’s clever production of Fidelio makes the most of its surroundings. When we first encounter Marcellina, the head jailor’s daughter who has fallen for the disguised Fidelio, she is bringing in flowers from the garden outside to plant in the prison grounds and uses a plant pot to hide the money she is saving up for a dowry. In the famous prisoner’s chorus which ends Act 1, the prisoners are let out to the actual Garsington garden to take their exercises, and their exaltation at seeing daylight as they are led up from the dungeon feels utterly authentic. This moment is enhanced by the choice to raise some of the opera house’s blinds and bathe the stage in sunshine. And if Act 1 benefits from daylight, then Act 2 – set in the deepest of dungeons – benefits just as much from the post-long interval darkness, and is set in stygian gloom with individual singers spotlit. The action feels weightier, the tension raised.
Director John Cox gives a straightforward retelling of the story, without added concepts or updating – which makes the production easy to follow and eminently revivable, if a bit safe. Scenes – set on two levels of what look like cages with dungeons hinted at beneath the stage – are well blocked and acted, although some big solo moments, like Fidelio’s Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin in Act 1, come across a bit old-style “stand and deliver”. However, there are a number of truly touching moments and some real chemistry between the principals, such as when Fidelio and husband Florestan reunite and she’s given the honour of freeing him from his chains, and there is an easy, believable camaraderie between Fidelio and head jailor Rocco.
Musically this is a solid night. Jonathan Lemalu sings beautifully, and his Rocco is a three-dimensional, heartfelt character. Robert Murray makes the most of Florestan with a lush rendition of Act 2’s Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!, chained in some of the largest and heaviest shackles I’ve ever seen on stage. Musa Ngqungwana has immense stage presence and makes for an imposing Don Pizarro, the opera’s villain (the first night audience mercilessly booed him in panto-style before giving him the ovation he deserved). I have been a fan of Sally Matthews for many years and while she looks and acts the title role very well, I’m not sure the part is fully in her range and there were some squally top notes at times. Her scenes with Marcellina (a lively Isabella Peters) also fall a bit flat and feel overly awkward. Douglas Boyd conducts The English Concert with urgency and spirit, and it’s always a pleasure to hear Beethoven played on period instruments. The Garsington Chorus excels as prisoners and (aborted) wedding guests, although their prisoner costumes look more boho chic than ragged.
This is a revival worth catching – as much for the opera itself as for the natural surroundings it so effectively makes use of.
Opera in two acts, composed by Ludvig van Beethoven
Libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuling and George Friedrich Treitschke after Jean-Nicolas Bouilly’s French libretto Leonore, ou l’amour conjugal
Conducted by Douglas Boyd
Production by John Cox, Revived by Jamie Manton
Designs by Gary McCann, Lighting by Ben Pickersgill
Cast includes Sally Matthews, Robert Murray, Jonathon Lemalu, Isabella Peters, Musa Ngqungwana, Oliver Johnston and Richard Burkhard
Playing until 22nd July 2025
Running time: 3 hours 50 minutes including 90-minute dinner interval
Photo credit: Jules Guidera for Garsington Opera