Susan Bullock makes an unforgettable Elizabeth I (Picture: Alastair Muir)
Susan Bullock makes an unforgettable Elizabeth I (Picture: Alastair Muir)

Opera review: Gloriana

Composed in honour of the Queen’s coronation, Britten’s Gloriana got a disastrous response when it premiered in June 1953. One wag even retitled it ‘Boriana’. Sixty years on, Richard Jones’s game-changing new production and a superb cast make it the must-see hit of the season.

Written in Britten’s most approachable and melodic style, the opera deals with the flirtatious relationship between Elizabeth I and the impetuous (and ultimately treacherous) Earl of Essex. Its gorgeous masque sequence, designed to contrast the opulence of Elizabeth’s public life with her inner emotional torments, also provides a thought-provoking celebration of pageantry and royal theatricality.

Jones updates the action to 1953 and places it on the stage of a stylised village hall where a local community is producing an Elizabethan spectacular. The double time frame is a masterstroke, the narrative is crystal clear and the fascinating paradox of the opera – that it’s a sunny public piece about a tragic private story – is explored with emotional depth and intellectual vigour.

Susan Bullock makes an unforgettable Elizabeth and her portrayal of the queen’s brutal haughtiness is a masterpiece of dark humour and pathos. Toby Spence, his voice on shining form, matches her as a dashing Essex. The rest
of the cast, including Mark Stone and Kate Royal, are all excellent, as is Paul Daniel’s conducting. Glorious.

Tonight until Jul 6, Royal Opera House. www.roh.org.uk