★★★★☆
I’ve finally tumbled to the secret skill needed to direct a Handel opera: it’s knowing how to keep the characters busy during those long, self-repeating arias. Richard Jones, the director of English National Opera’s outstanding Rodelinda of 2014, is an absolute master of the trick. As the notes circle, a blowtorch is lit, a tattoo incised. Weapons are chosen, photographs sliced, gruesome deaths mimed.
At times, especially in the opening act, it can seem as if too much is on display. Yet once this opera about fidelity and treachery finds its focus and its best music, there’s nothing to stop Donna Stirrup’s revival from grabbing the audience by the throat. Who wouldn’t feel for Rodelinda as she rejoins Bertarido, the husband and deposed king