A geodesic dome was never going to have the intimate charm of the Italianate cloister that was Iford Arts’ previous performing space at Iford Manor but, in its temporary accommodation within the elegant grounds of Belcombe Court, Wiltshire, the energy and flair of the company was as evident as ever.
Donizetti’s comic opera, premiered in 1832, set the Tristan and Isolde story in bucolic Italy: director James Hurley sets his production around 1920 in the citrus belt of southern California, making Adina the owner of an orange grove. On a central circular dais, audience surrounding, the cast painstakingly erected a juice bar with its half-an-orange dome, Holly Pigott’s design copying the authentic shacks of the time. All this stage busyness was cleverly co-ordinated and, yes, fresh orange juice was duly pressed and served, yet the air of contrivance meant that this felt like a gimmick.
If this performance had a brash, country-and-western feel that sat ill with the finesse of Donizetti’s music, the young singers delivered in terms of gusto. And, as an object lesson in opera-craft, they had none other than baritone Andrew Shore in the role of Dr Dulcamara, the travelling quack who provides the so-called elixir to Nemorino, in love with Adina and needing her to fall in love with him.
With Dulcamara in all-American getup, cutting a Colonel Sanders sort of figure with Mephistophelean black hair and a tall, white Stetson, Shore – who made his Met debut in this role – was a big presence, every bit the showman. Robert Lewis was the hapless Nemorino, his tenor strong and forthright, and words super-clear – if too unvaried in tone. His rival, Sergeant Belcore, was sung with bluster by Matthew Durkan. Claire Lees portrayed the sassy but fickle Adina, her sound bright, her phrasing graceful.
