Handel's Amadigi di Gaula gets a Love Island makeover at Buxton Opera House
Olivia Fuchs directs a reality-TV inspired staging of Handel's four-hander, replacing magic with video trickery and a cast of lovers from a dating show.
The absurdity of Handel's magic operas can be a headache for directors, but not for Olivia Fuchs. Her production of Amadigi di Gaula for the Buxton festival swaps the composer's paper-thin plot for a Love Island-style reality show. Inflatables, cameras, and hearts abound as sorceresses become producers and lovers become contestants.
With a cast of just four, chemistry is everything. Sopranos Hilary Cronin and Rowan Pierce, and countertenors James Hall and Tim Morgan tangle in Handel's musical game. Erin Helyard leads the English Concert, whose propulsive playing drives the action, with emotive obbligato moments for oboe and bassoon.
Hilary Cronin's Melissa is a standout villain, power-suited and commanding, with a final aria delivered straight down the lens that breaks hearts. Pierce's Oriana is vocal silver to Cronin's gold, while Hall's Dardano has bite. Morgan's hapless Amadigi charms his way through with only minor vocal sweat. Fuchs' endless invention keeps the audience smiling throughout.
