sat 11/05/2024

Messiah, ENO | reviews, news & interviews

Messiah, ENO

Messiah, ENO

Community spirit at the Coliseum

Communion and community: Warner's Messiah mixes the sacred and the everydayLaurie Lewis
There are so many ways a dramatic production of Messiah can go wrong it is almost unbearable to think about it. Certainly, there was a palpable buzz of nervousness in the Coliseum about last night’s audience as they took their seats. Did English National Opera really think it could pull it off? Could it avoid the pitfalls into triteness that surely lurk at every corner? How would the chorus manage it? And please God, let it be better than Glyndebourne’s 2007 St Matthew Passion.
There are so many ways a dramatic production of Messiah can go wrong it is almost unbearable to think about it. Certainly, there was a palpable buzz of nervousness in the Coliseum about last night’s audience as they took their seats. Did English National Opera really think it could pull it off? Could it avoid the pitfalls into triteness that surely lurk at every corner? How would the chorus manage it? And please God, let it be better than Glyndebourne’s 2007 St Matthew Passion.

Share this article

Comments

This staging of Messiah by Warner at the ENO was dismal, ugly and mundane. But I suppose that is the kind of failure that happens when small talents impertinently attempt to interpret Genius. Let's hope she never meddles with such great works again!!

This production of the Messiah was the most unintentionally hilarious thing I have ever seen. Projecting an image of a trussed-up lamb onto a fluttering scrim during "Behold the Lamb of God"? Really? REALLY? Handel is rolling over in his grave. If there is a god out there -- and this performance was enough to turn anyone atheist -- please keep Deborah Warner away from any more great choral works. Thanks.

Add comment

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters