Reviews 2003
Reviews 2003
✭✭✭✩✩
by Ian McAndrew
Amphion Opera, St. Anne's Anglican Church, Toronto
May 5, 2003
On May 5, 2003 in Toronto's St. Anne's Anglican Church, a new company, Amphion Opera, debuted with the world premiere in concert of Artistic Director Ian McAndrew's second opera Cassandra. In 75 minutes, it tells the story of the Trojan princess blessed with the gift of prophecy but cursed with the fate never to be believed. G.J. Portman's terse libretto concludes Act 1 with fulfillment of Cassandra's prophesy of the fall of Troy and Act 2 with her vision and acceptance of her own death at the hands of Clytemnestra.
McAndrew's closely argued music, scored for a ten-member ensemble including harpsichord, had a cultivated, mid-20th-century sound, recalling the jagged lines and piquant sonorities of Frank Martin combined with the rhythmic vitality of Hindemith. From the harpsichord's first ceremonious announcement of a recurring twelve-note phrase linked to the theme of prophecy, the work unfolded with rigorous inevitability.
Carolyn Sinclair's dark-hued soprano fully captured Cassandra's vulnerability and the psychological horror of her predicament. Golden-toned tenor Eric Shaw lent majesty to the god Apollo. Soprano Jane Archibald shone both as Andromache and Electra. Young bass-baritone Jon-Paul Décosse was convincing both as the elderly Priam and the gruff Ajax. Baritone Andrew Tees made a proud Agamemnon. Jo-Anne Bentley's mezzo, however, seemed too soft-grained for the iconic queens Hecuba and Clytemnestra. Throughout, Michael Jarvis's conducting drew taut, vital music-making from the cast and ensemble. Strong as it now is, expanding the work and particularly the role of Cassandra could very well increase the likelihood of future productions.
Christopher Hoile
Note: A version of this review appeared in Opera Canada 2003-12-22.
Photo: Cover art of CD of Cassandra, Amphion 2010.
2003-05-06
Cassandra