Review: PARTENOPE at London Coliseum

Originally composed for inclusion in his 1730 season at the King’s Theatre, the work is one of Handel’s few forays into comedic satire and mocks the usual hyperbolic practise of hero worship. His characters are flawed and their romantic entanglements even more so. Rosmira (Katie Bray) disguises herself as a male suitor Eurimene to win back her former lover Arsace (Hugh Cutting) who has become enamoured with Partenope (Nardus Williams). The gender bending acts as a catalyst to various confusing situations, confessions and expressions of regret. Amanda Holden’s reworking of the original Silvio Stampiglia libretto takes some liberties to imbue proceedings with a modern air, but the frequent use of expletives serves to muddy the creation of 1920s/1930s Parisian chic. By the time Emilio (Ru Charlesworth) invades (complete with his spiked Prussian helmet), he seems to have morphed from military man into ‘Man Ray the photographer man’. It’s an odd device but allows him to walk aloof among his fellow performers frequently letting off flash bulbs in their faces as though capturing their responses to key events.

After the interval, patrons returned to their seats but were left pondering why there was a seeming hiatus to proceedings and sure enough a brief announcement informed us that conductor Christian Curnyn had fallen ill. Fortunately, Assistant Conductor William Cole valiantly stepped into the breach. One has to wonder if Mr Cole realised as he took up the baton, that we were on the verge of the exceptionally lively Act II battle scene which is a considerable test for any maestro but especially one who has just been asked to deputise at a moment’s notice. Thankfully the well-drilled orchestra performed magnificently.

Slightly less impressive was Andrew Lieberman’s Man Ray inspired set which first dazzled in 2008 but has grown visibly age-weary in storage. The once impressive Act I white staircase has evidently undergone repair and the door to the centre stage lavatory which features so humorously in Act II was dragging on the floor and came off its hinges when yanked open by one of the cast members. It is a notably prop-heavy production, and elsewhere in the duel challenge the handkerchief was inadvertently dropped just prior to its big moment, and a rebellious top hat unexpectedly left its wearer’s head not once but twice — but that, as they say, is the beauty of live performance. As a former performer myself, watching cast members seamlessly work around and resolve the issues when they happen, is one of the joys of reviewing.

Directed by Christopher Alden, the Olivier award winning production continues until 6th December.

Partenope Tickets