Britten: Gloriana (Daniel)

Introduction

Gloriana was composed for the coronation of the young Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and was to be Britten`s last foray in `grand` opera, not least because the first performance was described by his friend and deidcatee of `Billy Budd`, Lord Harewood, as ..`one of the great disasters of operatic history.` This wasn`t necessarily to do with the performance itself, but more likely that the story just wasn`t what the public wanted for themselves, and indeed wanted as a celebration of the coronation.

Instead, Britten had presented a tragic and all too human figure in the new Queen`s predecessor, showing her as someone smothered by the necessities of State and having to make terrible decisions in order to protecet herself and her sovereignty.

The work had a couple of revivals after this, but none more successful than at Opera North in the 1990s, when Phyllida Lloyd`s production, and Josephine Barstow`s singing suddenly showed the depth and passion of music which had often been dismissed as a noble failure.

The BBC asked Lloyd for a 100 minute film, and she created a cut-down version of the opera, using the same forces, but ensuring the story dwelt on the relationship between Elizabeth and the Earl of Essex. This showed an obvious link to the present-day Royal Family, who were also having trouble keeping their private and public lives separate, and ironically, the first Opera North performance took place in the year following Elizabeth II`s `annus horribilis`.

This DVD is a very welcome release of that film.

Video

As with all Opus-Arte releases, we have a region-free NTSC 16:9 anamorphic transfer. The film was first shown on the BBC in April 2000, and so we cannot expect too many huge revelations video-wise, but everything is very clear, and there seemed to be little problem in showing the sometimes stark contrasts in colours and lighting.

Audio

We can watch in stereo or DTS, and to be honest, there didn`t seem much between them here. Perhaps the DTS spread out a little more to the two front speakers, but I certainly didn`t notice anything at all from the rear.

Having said that, the sound is admirably transferred and the fact that much of the film was sung to a pre-recorded track (so as not to break the bank apparently - us instrumentalists can be very expensive you know) means that the voices are never covered and a nice balance is achieved throughout.

I`m ashamed to say that I kept the English subtitles on as some of the text is difficult to make out, not because the diction is bad, but the language is rather archaic. Will still need to look up some words I jotted down.

Features

The main extras are a group of four short sets of `interviews` from the main players in this production. Each concentrates on a slightly different aspect of the story, but all add up to a fascinating insight into the feelings of those who took part, and some (not least Paul Daniel) are brutally honest about their initial thoughts on reviving this particular work. The best comes last though in the hilarious description by Phyllida Lloyd on attempts to get the real backstage crew of Opera North to do some acting themselves for the film.

The booklet contains a short and informative description of the opera`s progress in the repertory, and a nice little paragraph from Lloyd on why large chunks of the work are not used for the film. Paul Daniel is unrepentent about this, saying that a film such as this actually increases the value of opera, and those who want to see the bits that were cut should hunt it out in a proper theatre. I`m inclined to agree with him, after all, Zeffirelli did much the same for his film of `Otello` and it didn`t do the opera any harm.

Conclusion

I remember missing this when it first came out on TV, and so was looking forward to reacquainting myself with a work I hadn`t heard for over 20 years. First impressions were divided, as much of the beginning was set backstage, mixing cast and crew (as in real life) with the music from the orchestra sounding as it would sound in that part of the theatre. Add to this some vacuous chat from all involved, and orders being barked by various levels of stage management I was wondering what I was letting myself in for. It certainly wasn`t going to be a bog-standard `point the camera at the stage and let them get on with it` performance.

And I was terribly pleased about that in the end.

Lloyd`s production takes us right up to the action, whether it be on `stage` (some is filmed in the theatre and some in a studio) or during orchestral interludes when the cast are running around like mad things getting themselves ready for costume and scene changes. All of a sudden, the reality of this backstage meleé becomes the world outside the Elizabethan court, and it is no longer Josephine Barstow in the changing room, but Elizabeth herself, as she attempts to gain some privacy from the pressures of politics and prying eyes.

This is supposed to be because Barstow became so engrossed in the role during the actual theatre performances, that she never really left her character behind at any time. The conceit works brilliantly, as we, the audience, are taken into places that are transformed from grotty dressing rooms into the most private world of one of the most powerful, yet vulnerable people in history.

The golden `cage` in which Elizabeth spends much of her time creates a huge sense of claustrophobia, and reminded me of a smiliar theatrical device used for Macbeth and his wife in the DVD of Verdi`s opera (also reviewed here). Funnily enough, that was also directed by a certain P. Lloyd.

Here, much of Britten`s music can feel as if he`s creating a simplistic pastiche of how we think Tudor-style music would have sounded, but this simplicity hides a great depth to the music, and Lloyd times her shots to perfection, creating two outstanding scenes (for me anyway), which show Josephine Barstow`s acting at her best., the second being the signing of the death warrant - something which will stay in the mind for a long time to come.

Barstow`s singing is also quite spectacular, and luckily, is matched by the rest of the cast. Tom Randle (Essex) is superb, and you can easily believe that there may have been something going on there - and not necessarily between the characters.

Eric Roberts (Lord Robert Cecil) also grabbed my attention, with some highly musical and well judged singing.

The rest of the cast (and crew - once they learned to act as if the pub was about to shut in 2 minutes) are all just as good. Paul Daniel does a fine job with the English Northern Sinfonia, and there is little sign of problems arising from the fact that a lot of the scenes were sung without a band or conductor there. There is of course, little of the impact a truly live performance would have on an audience, but the pros of this filmed performance deinfitely outweigh the cons.

It`s difficult to prevent too much hyperbole when reviewing something you thing is so good it can`t be missed, but to be honest, this is so good it can`t, indeed, shouldn`t be missed.