Händel: The Messiah

Handel's oratorios are eminently suitable for adaptation as operas. I have seen convincing operatic versions of Jephtha, Saul and Theodora. The one exception is probably The Messiah because Charles Jennens's libretto is simply a reflection on the life of Christ with no narrative structure. This has not stopped opera directors from trying, with generally indifferent results. In this 2009 production from Vienna, director Claus Guth sets the piece in an anonymous-looking hotel. It starts with a funeral and then there is a flashback to the protagonist's apparent suicide. We don't really find out anything about this man, why he kills himself and why so many people are mourning him. The only thing that I am completely clear about is that the storyline has absolutely no connection to the libretto of The Messiah.

On the other hand, musically, this is a triumph. There are five brilliant soloists. I will not name them all but, perhaps countertenor Bejun Mehta is worthy of particular mention. Even though the storyline is spurious it does add a dimension to see the soloists emoting in a dramatic situation. This is even more true of the chorus where every singer projects his or her own individual character. The performance has an intimate feel, particularly the Hallelujah Chorus, with much smaller resources that we are used to hearing at our local town halls at Easter time.

I must admit too that I found the subtitles added to the experience, even though the performance is in English. Jennens's libretto is so opaque that it is possible to listen to it for a lifetime without working out what the performers are singing about.

The only downside was two non-singing characters. The protagonist is a very twitchy dancer who made me feel twitchy too whenever he appeared. There is also a sign language performer who is extremely irritating and unnecessary. Apart from that I really enjoyed this production.

Handel's The Messiah is quite possibly with Mendelssohn's Elijah in close running the greatest oratorio ever written, and one of the greatest choral works. Some might be put off by that this performance is a staged performance like an opera, but Peter Sellars' production of Theodora worked wonderfully in the same way so there was a good chance that Messiah could work(although it is more "opaque" libretto wise) too. And it did on the most part, but it is true- personal opinion as it'll work for others- that the dancer and the sign language performer no matter how very expressively done they did their jobs were unnecessary, even when you know why and where they were fitted in in the story the production is trying to tell. The picture, sound and video directing are excellent quality though, the production values while not opulent are not ugly either, more very detailed and atmospheric if summed up, and the staging from Claus Guth is thoughtful. To have 8 characters instead of 4 and to not have as big a chorus was an interesting move and it worked very well within Guth's concept of making Messiah a human drama, the individualised characters, contrasted in most cases too to one another, really bring a sense of intimacy that is most moving. The production is impeccable musically, the conducting is tight yet nuanced, the orchestra give the score the style and emotional intensity Handel's music needs and the chorus- all having a sense of personality and identity in performance and how they were directed- sing with much involvement and the Hallelujah and Amen choruses are the meaning of uplifting. The soloists are terrific, Martin Pollman is very amusing while Susan Gritton and Cornelia Horak sing with crystalline diction and with tones that are rich and pure. Their sense of drama is very committed too. Florian Boesch has the right amounts of sonority and flexibility to his voice and he does not disappoint dramatically either, very firm and imposing. Richard Croft as ever sings intelligently and commandingly, some of his gestures are on the stock side but for what he's singing and what he's portraying in Guth's concept it doesn't distract at all. Particularly impressive was Benjun Mehta, his counter-tenor voice is sympathetic, knowing and controlled. He Was Despised either moves or bores the listener depending on how it's done and on their tastes but Mehta gets a lot out of the aria, the words are very intelligently shaped and it is a very moving interpretation. All in all, could have gone either way in execution, reading of it could raise concerns for some, but thanks to how musically impeccable it is Messiah with a humanised actually works. 8/10 Bethany Cox