The Comedy of Errors (Gli Equivoci)
Press reviews
A rare treat in an Oxfordshire country garden...
Independent 25 July 2000
He wrote over 15 operas, and a lament for Marie Antoinette; his sister was the Emperor's favourite, and Mozart's Susanna. He was dead by 33. Bampton Classical Opera was bound to fall for Stephen Storace. Over the years Jeremy Gray has made a speciality of reviving rare 18th century fare amid the topiary of an Oxfordshire country garden.
What with bats, swallows and swifts, they could have made a bid for Storace's The Haunted Tower (1789, of all years), or The Pirates (l792). But this summer, going one better, they served up a Lorenzo da Ponte double. For the version of The Comedy of Errors (Gli Equivoci), an uncannily clever, sly adaptation of the Roman Comedy-steeped Shakespeare play about the shenanigans of two pairs of Grecian twins, was by none other than the librettist of Mozart's crowning trilogy.
We should thank Joseph II. Gli Equivoci was an imperial commission, issued in 1786, the year Figaro hit the stage. It's impossible not to recognise in the ensembles - duets, double trios, quartets of varying components, septets - countless echoes of the brilliant Mozartian egg da Ponte had just laid.
What's more, Storace (whether or not Mozart gave him "lessons"; more relevant is the numerous beers they shared) was not just a superbly fluent Mozart parodist, but arguably a master in his own right. His orchestration only intermittently makes the leap - flutes in Euphemio of Syracuse's wooing aria, lulling pizzicato strings for Adriana's bizarrely melting "Scottish" song, swooshes of Stadler clarinet). He lacks, as yet, Mozart's decorative and obbligato brilliance. But the ensemble writing, including a couple of "amazed" quartets that make early Verdi seem old hat, a stunning Figaro-like extended close to Act I, and a bonanza finale that knocks spots off A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, left one gasping.
Bampton productions have improved by miles. There was one Achilles heel: the string playing on the first night - aargh! Contrast their Cosi (also da Ponte) a few nights earlier, inspiredly clearly staged by Robert Bateman in an outside apse of Westonbirt School, Tetbury - a superb opera setting. Everything went right : Simon Over's overall shaping, some beautifully responsive continuo and top-notch upper strings and woodwind matched an equally lucid sextet, topped by Cato Fordham's Ferrando.
But if the strings creaked for Gli Equivoci, the comedy didn't let up. The mock-oriental set (Laura Ashley had a hand in it) appealed; more importantly, it was ingeniously used. Gray shrewdly contrived exactly the kind of visual variety and zip Shakespeare's original demands, yet always so as to abet the dramatic impact of Storace's vital score.
Both (baritone) Dromios shone vocally: Ephesus (Thomas Guthrie) like a fleeting oriental flibbertigibbet, Syracuse (Mark Saberton) in da Ponte's poignantly devised reunion with his own lost offspring (here, daughter). Amanda Pitt's torn Luciana tugged the heartstrings; tenor Benjamin Hulett's Syracusan Antipholus (da Ponte renames them Euphemio), Nicholas Merryweather's Angelo (da Ponte doubles him with Dr.Pinch: the snaky results were achingly funny), Catherine Hamilton's flummoxed Adriana and Henry Herford's Solomonian Solinus were pick of the voices. But my, does this music - especially in Arthur Jacobs's Sams-like pithy translation - cry out to be recorded.
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To general astonishment...
The Times
To general astonishment, Bampton's open-air opera took place beneath blue skies in a year which has shown up the mad optimism of such ventures. But such a feeling of well-being accompanies a hint of summer these days that, despite the risk of hypothermia attendant on a 10.30pm finish, it gave the production a good furlong start on any more mainstream staging. Not that there have been many of those: Stephen Storace's 1786 opera received its first and, till Friday, last English performance at the Camden Festival in 1974.
Storace was a friend of Mozart's who had great success in Vienna before returning to London in 1787. This opera first saw the light of day as Gli equivoci, was commissioned by Joseph II, has a libretto by none other than Lorenzo da Ponte - given here in a witty translation by Arthur Jacobs - was premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna a few months after Figaro, and bears some resemblance to it.
Mistaken identity is of course the motor of most opera buffa and Shakespeare's play is its most extreme example - not enough for da Ponte, however, who introduced a wife for the Syracusan Dromio to perk things up. Whether or not Storace was Mozart's pupil he certainly learned from his friend, notably in his deft and delicate scoring for the wind band. The extended ensemble finales are brilliantly handled - one starting with a moment of stunned silence that anticipates Rossini and containing a fugue remarkably like the coda of the later Don Giovanni. There is an effective storm overture, some lovely arias (plus an unexpected Scottish song), a gorgeous soprano duet with basset-horn obbligato, a patter-song... it may not be Mozart, but it beats the pants off Salieri, Paisiello and Cimarosa. The forgotten Storace, like steak-and-kidney pudding, is a victim of the inverted snobbery of the English.
The young cast coped creditably with the score's demands, and Mark Saberton, Thomas Guthrie and Catherine Hamilton were outstanding as the twin servants and Adriana. The orchestra sits in a tent to the side of the stage; conductor Simon Over might have given the unsighted singers a bit more help, but he had his own troubles with a few anarchists who seemed to have taken advantage of the anything-so-long-as-it's-black dress code to infiltrate the violin section. The opera was set in a very Ottoman Ephesus (on a chessboard - neat idea) and the production, by Jeremy Gray, was lively and slick and not overdone.
All this takes place beneath the spire of Bampton church west of Oxford. You can pay more for less in more pretentious and far less pretty places. It's well worth having a look to see what they dig up for next year.
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From 'Opera' magazine, November 2000
Lorenzo da Ponte (l749-1838) was still in his thirties when Figaro and Così were first staged in Vienna; he died aged almost 90, having enjoyed a latterday incarnation managing the newly-built Italian opera house in New York. Yet it was in the very year of Figaro's triumph, 1786, that da Ponte turned his hand, somewhat hurriedly, to providing a libretto for the 24 year old Stephen Storace, whose sister Ann (Nancy) had been Mozart's first Susanna. Gli Equivoci (The Comedy of Errors) was based on the Shakespeare play, of Roman origins, about the long-separated pairs of master and servant and the misadventures that befall them in Ephesus before they are finally reunited. Both The Marriage of Figaro and Così, of course, are veritable comedies of errors, mistaken identity and unpredictable encounter, providing the perfect preamble to da Ponte's task of adapting Shakespeare. He takes the slightly straggling play, tightens it, emphasises the women's role, heightens the pathos of the confusions and recognitions, and galvanises the whole with a dozen varied size ensembles which in design and imagination can legitimately be compared to Figaro itself. Storace is not Mozart, especially as an orchestrator - though a few Stadler-like moments for clarinet are uplifting. One went ready for disappointment. But no such thing : Bampton Classical Opera's production put scarcely a foot wrong. Nifty comedy, colourful settings, beautifully contrived send-up, imaginative moves, a real sense of directorial pacing, clear words (in Arthur Jacobs's immensely successful translation) and a clutch of promising voices made this an evening to be savoured. Both Dromios (baritones Mark Saberton - in the role probably sung by Mozart's Figaro, Benucci - and the visually and vocally elastic Thomas Guthrie) made a strong vocal showing; so did Benjamin Hulett's mellow-tenored Euphemio (Antipholus) of Syracuse (in Michael Kelly's original role) and Catherine Hamilton's Adriana (Sofronia) - the part taken by Nancy Storace at the Vienna premiere. Angelo's repetitive leavetaking (Nicholas Merryweather) brought a comic irony worthy of Falstaff; Amanda Pitt, though less securely-voiced, was a melting, guilt-ridden Luciana (Sostrata). Henry Herford brought dignity to the Duke. The reconciliation sextet was beguiling; the two gradually-built finales, quite magnificent. Simon Over, conducting, suffered from recalcitrant violins and never quite tamed them; by contrast his Così for Bampton the preceding week was a model of intelligently relaxed, idiomatic timing.
Roderic Dunnett
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Review by Malcolm Miller 20 August 2000
An open-air revival of Stephen Storace's sparkling comic opera Gli Equivoci, or The Comedy of Errors, to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, was presented on 21/22 July by Bampton Classical Opera locally in the UK's Oxfordshire. Possibly the first operatic adaptation of a Shakesperean comedy, its complex plot of lovers' confusion and reconciliation was presented zestfully and imaginatively staged by Jeremy Gray, using a wittily rhyming English translation made by the late Arthur Jacobs, first used at the 1974 Camden Festival.
Stephen Storace is best known for ballad operas, and his sister Nancy was the first Susannah in Mozart's Figaro. Storace's visits to Vienna to see her brought friendship with Mozart and others, and led to commissions from the Imperial Court for several operas, including Gli sposi malcontenti of 1785, the success of which led to Gli Equivoci. Its premiere in December 1786 followed after that of Figaro seven months earlier. There are several important connections between them. Lorenzo da Ponte was librettist for both works and the two lead roles in both were sung by Nancy Storace and Benucci (the first Figaro). Other similarities are evident, especially the finale of Act 1 as a nocturnal farce confusing lovers' identities.
Bampton's delightful venue was adorned with a raised stage that presented an ingenious all-purpose set, a bright red ornamented frontage with windows and doors, which became a street, the house of the Syracusian Euphemio, and the Duke's court. The orchestra on the side suffered some inaudibility, but enough was detected to enjoy the colourful wind writing, which was influenced by Mozart's example.
Whilst Storace cannot match Mozart in expressive depth and complexity, his dramatic pacing equals any of his contemporaries. Attractive melodic writing and scoring, and the adept ensembles show both Viennese classical charm and the inflection of English and Scottish folk-song characteristic of his many ballad operas. The use of woodwinds is Mozartian, yet in general Storace's structures are simpler in harmonic and thematic development, revealing some weaknesses expected of a lesser talent alongside Mozart. Storace does provide appealing textures and buoyant rhythms, spiced with occasional surprises. Especially effective is the overture with its vivid depiction of a storm that shipwrecks the Syracusians Euphemio and his servant Dromio in Ephesus, and Storace's evocations of thunder and lightning reminiscent of Idomeneo.
Some of his arias are entrancing, particularly the touching piece for Dromio when he discovers his wife Lesbia and daughter Dromia, and two love arias in the second act. There are also several racy patter songs. Even more delightful are the ensembles in each act and the multi-section finales which owe much to Da Ponte's experience as a librettist.
Particularly effervescent at Bampton was the nonet in the Act 1 finale as each group of characters, the wife and sister, and the two pairs of Euphomios and Dromios, challenge each other in the dark, with comical effects reinforced in the orchestration. There was fine projection from the singers Catherine Hamilton as Adriana, Amanda Pitt as Luciana her sister, Benjamin Hulett and the experienced baritone of Mark Saberton, as well as David Murray and Thomas Guthrie, and Gillian French as Lesbia. The Act II finale takes place at the ducal court where the Duke, a Sarastro-like character symbolic of Enlightenment justice and reason was nobly sung by Henry Herford, who has three Bampton festivals to his credit.
Much credit for the success and sheer fun of the occasion is due to the director Jeremy Gray's production which kept the drama alive, with witty touches to match Arthur Jacobs' comic rhymes, stylish choreography in the ensembles, and plenty of activity from minor characters, including a juggler. The conductor Simon Over maintained an intrepid pace throughout and was supported well despite a rather patchy string section.
Bampton's British revival of Storace's Comedy of Errors follows recent performances in Batignano and Wexford. Its qualities auger well for repeats within another opera festival - such as the Covent Garden festival - provided a professional orchestra may be found. And there is a case for a recording to fill a gap in the catalogues. Meanwhile, Bampton's Classical Opera is applauded for their adventurous spirit. Next year it is to stage The Philosopher's Stone, of which the UK concert premiere at the Hampstead and Highgate Festival 2000 was reviewed here by me recently.
Malcolm Miller
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9 December 2000 Roderic Dunnett
Even more of a rarity is Gli Equivoci, or The Comedy of Errors, by the late Georgian English composer Stephen Storace, which takes its libretto from Shakespeare's comedy, brilliantly scissored and reworked by Mozart's librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte, in the very same year -- 1786 -- that Figaro was first staged in Vienna. Bampton Classical Opera, which shares its time between the enchanting Deanery Garden in a west Oxfordshire village and an intimate new outdoor venue at Westonbirt School, Gloucestershire, making good acoustic use of a Cotswold stone backdrop, has shown itself increasingly adept at delivering attractive homespun productions to new local audiences.
Jeremy Gray's Comedy of Errors production, colourfully set, sung in English and staged with just the right kind of wry wit, was something of a triumph, with the New College-trained Ben Hulett's Euphemio (Antipholus) of Syracuse, Catherine Hamilton's Adriana and Mark Saberton's Dromio of Syracuse arguably pick of the voices, plus an attractive vocal performance from the visually less versatile Angelo, Nicholas Merryweather. Simon Over conducted, building Storace's brilliantly phased ensembles admirably, although labouring in vain to counteract some markedly third-class upper string-playing.
Bampton are to stage Storace's The Comedy of Errors at The Theatre Royal, Bath on 13 March 2001 and Westonbirt School, Tetbury, Gloucestershire on 14 and 15 July 2001.
White Horse Opera, which treads the boards not (pace the photographs) outdoors in wild megalithic Wiltshire, but indoors at the Devizes Corn Exchange, has staged a number of effective home-grown productions in recent years, including Saint-Saens' Samson and Delilah, Rossini's Count Ory and (last season) Mozart's The Magic Flute. This year they turned to Bellini, staging Norma, generally regarded as one of the composer's finest bel canto masterpieces, and not so long ago a showpiece for Maria Callas.
The orchestral playing under Eric Wetherell, who shrewdly judged each pacing just right for both the opera and his singers, seemed a first rate team effort. The production's best feature was Andrew Taylor's evocatively painted back flats, effectively lit in alternating greys, reds and blues. Graham Billing's unimaginative direction, however, seemed skimpy verging on non-existent. Yet the three main principals made a marked impact : Paul Arden-Griffith's Roman proconsul, Pollione, was exquisitely sung, if limply acted. Geraldine Aylmer-Kelly made a superb stab at Norma herself, mastering Bellini's massively taxing coloratura with flying colours (albeit less secure at lower pitch) and cutting a fiery figure onstage too. Edward Harper's Oroveso had many of the key ingredients : a dignified strength of presence, beautiful vocal control and an appealing timbre. The chorus sang with spirit and aplomb, though the impressive dominating oak tree rather capped them in the acting stakes.
White Horse Opera's next opera will be Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus on 17, 19 and 20 October 2001.
