Verdi's Nabucco - Ellen Kent & Opera International
Apollo - this week

Nabucco, despite being the work which persuaded Verdi to continue composition, is far from the composer's best music, yet this production - which sometimes seems closer to pantomime than high drama - approaches the Opera with such energy and vivacity that it is hard not to be captivated. Grandiose sets with vivid lighting provide the backdrop for the stirring tale of King Nabucco's tyranny against the Hebrews and his subsequent betrayal by a power-hungry daughter, a loose dramatisation of the murderous career of King Nebuchadnezzar and his repeated sacking of Babylon.

Whilst the setting is impressive, the music is somewhat less so. Whilst Verdi seems to gain a little momentum over the course of the four acts, the overture and many of the arias are distinctly unbalanced. The intrinsic flaws in the music were not helped by an orchestra that occasionally struggled with ensemble, though when the volume of the playing increased, so did the cohesion of the sound. Conducted with admirable stamina by Nicolae Dohotaru, the players from Chisinau showed a clear understanding of the music, but sometimes a greater variety of tone could have eased the effect on the ear. The same is true of the singers, each producing a distinctively Eastern European sound. The rather Brain-Blessedeque title character was played with a vocal authority that was only slightly undermined by his bizarre entrance, but Ismail (an unlikely looking emotional lead), Fenena and Zaccaria were rather monochrome, and consistently rendered inaudible by the enthusiasm of the orchestra. The musical highlight was undoubtedly the chorus who, whilst their acting rather closely resembled an anemone swaying in the surf, sang with great sensitivity - especially during the famous Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves.

Ellen Kent should be applauded for bringing such massive productions to this country, and if you're looking for spectacle then there was much to be enjoyed here, though some of the most dramatic moments were thrown away. One cannot help but think, though, that for the musical experience, the money might be better spent on a cd.

Greg Sanderson 16/02/02