Having presented Lalo’s Le roi d’Ys, based on a Breton legend, back in March, Chelsea Opera Group now gave another opera set in Britanny, Bellini’s La straniera (1829). It’s another story (set in the Middle Ages) about destructive, fatal passions, with the usual series of improbable twists in the plot, quite typical of bel canto repertoire. The stranger of the title is Alaide, the assumed name of the noblewoman Agnese who had been married to the king of France, until the latter was forced by the Pope to reinstate Princess Isemberga as his proper wife, having repudiated her. As such, Alaide has been sent into exile in Montolino, Britanny, and leads a solitary existence.
It’s also a typical plot about a wronged woman, the victim of a patriarchal nexus of social and political relations which it can be difficult to translate into a staged scenario that audiences in the 21st century can engage with uncritically, in such a way as to preserve the internal logic of the drama. This concert performance didn’t have to solve that problem, but Helena Dix’s powerful interpretation restored agency to Alaide, at least at a musical level. After a slightly shrill start on her opening vocalise, she settled into an assured vocal line that combined bell-like clarity with tonal strength, ringing defiantly over the orchestra. It’s very much our loss and Australia’s gain that she is now moving back to her native country.
Dan D’Souza also stood out for the fully-fledged vocal and dramatic character that he developed as Alaide’s brother Valdeburgo, who is stabbed by a jealous Arturo, misinterpreting their close relationship by thinking that Valdeburgo is a rival for her love. Thomas Elwin exhibited a solid technique in that role with an Italianate quality in his warm, occasionally baritonal timbre. But there could be more volatility and colourful variety to convey the character’s hot-headedness, as he becomes besotted with Aliade, despite his imminent marriage to Isoletta (the daughter of the Lord of Montolino). Despite promising to fulfil his vows to Isoletta, he stabs himself at the opera’s climax when news is brought that the king’s wife has died so that Alaide is now called to become the new queen. Arturo’s death causes her to sink lifeless at the conclusion.
Georgia Mae Bishop gave an effusive, expressive account of Isoletta, sorrowfully ardent when she believes that Arturo has rejected her, playful and generous vocally in her cabaletta as she thinks he will return to her. Will Diggle was a cheerful Osburgo, Montolino’s henchman, and Thomas D Hopkinson made two sturdy appearances as the Prior.
Stephen Barlow led the COG Chorus and Orchestra in a well-engaged performance, bringing all due emphasis and drama to the music, to the extent that the orchestra sometimes overpowered some of the soloists and even the chorus. If not always unanimous, the orchestral and choral forces ensured an indefatigable course through the score, realising the undercurrents of tragic passion at play, particularly in the evocative prelude to the fourth scene of Act One which depicts the onset of a storm. Mention should also be made of the solo oboe’s liquid wistfulness when accompanying Alaide’s first appearance (sounding like a cor anglais); the flute’s opulently rippling interjections during Isoletta’s Act Two scene; and the haunting sound of the horns to characterise the hunt.
The performance revealed an opera that, despite its dramatic improbabilities, is richly and sensitively orchestrated by Bellini, as well as compellingly structured, hardly deserving the obscurity into which it has fallen.
Curtis Rogers
La straniera
Composer: Vincenzo Bellini
Libretto: Felice Romani
Cast and production personnel:
Alaide – Helena Dix; Valdeburgo – Dan D’Souza; Arturo – Thomas Elwin; Isoletta – Georgia Mae Bishop; Osburgo – Will Diggle; The Lord of Montolino – Kevin Hollands; Prior – Thomas D Hopkinson
Conductor – Stephen Barlow; Chelsea Opera Group Chorus and Orchestra
Cadogan Hall, London, UK, 1 June 2025