Maria de Rudenz – Battersea Arts Centre, London

Composer: Donizetti

Librettist: Salvadore Cammarano

Director: Lysanne van Overbeek

Conductor: Anna Castro Grinstein

Gothic Opera, committed to reviving seldom-seen works, has scored a triumph with Donizetti’s Maria de Rudenz, performed for Halloween for three nights at Battersea Arts Centre. You know you’re in for a treat the moment you enter. Set and costume designer Nate Gibson has created magic with the impressive Grand Hall, decked out as part ruined abbey, part ancestral castle. Passing a long catafalque, you move closer to the altar-like stage already wreathed in incense. Long floaty drapes and burning candles suggest death, and, indeed, the opera begins with the solemn funeral rites of the old duke.

Salvadore Cammarano’s gothic plot is more bizarre than most. It is not until the wronged Maria enters that we learn of her lover Corrado’s attempt long since to have her buried alive in the catacombs of Rome. She has returned after years of searching for him, not to seek revenge, she insists, but to beg for his love. But as we’ve seen Corrado arranging his wedding to the nubile Matilde, we can be sure there’ll be gothic shocks a-plenty.

Directed by Lysanne van Overbeek, it’s all played at a fast clip, with a small team of surly men-servants doing sterling ensemble work as the chorus. Stoutly loyal to the dead duke, they’ve taken against Corrado (the lyrical Kieran Rayner) and his bride-to-be, Matilde (a gentle Béatrice de Larragoïti) and have no hesitation in ganging up on them.

Things are complicated by the entry of Corrado’s brother, Enrico, sung by Italian tenor Davide Basso, whose glorious voice and expressive face bring out the full pathos of the unrequited lover. One of the highlights of the piece is the touching duet between Corrado and Enrico, Corrado failing to hear Enrico’s suppressed melancholy.

It’s a chilling moment when Maria appears, veiled and clad in black. She’s believed to be dead, but here she is, materialising from the castle’s underground tunnels. Lorna Mclean makes Maria a truly formidable presence with her compelling soprano voice and her magnificent stage presence. Her eyes flash as she discards her veil. She is determined to right a number of wrongs, and it is clear that although she seeks to rekindle the love of Corrado, vengeance is not far from her mind.

The first act ends with a fabulous quartet in which Maria, Corrado, Matilde and Enrico express a resonant complex of emotions.

The second act begins serenely with Enrico’s beautiful aria, Talor nel mio dilirio, in which he admits his secret love for Matilde. But passionate acts follow on swiftly. It is revealed that he and Corrado are not brothers and that, in fact, Corrado’s father murdered Enrico’s real father. Murderous relatives seem to run in the family here, so we’ll never know why this should be such a stain on Corrado. After all, he has already admitted trying to brick up Maria. But this is all part of the opera’s dark, intense entertainment.

More thrilling awfulness continues to happen, with stabbings and screams in the semi-darkness. There’s a neat little jump scare when a dark hand appears illuminated behind a portrait. It’s all wonderfully crazy, so it’s no surprise that when Maria confesses a new butchery, her expression is one of giddy madness.

Anna Castro Grinstein conducts a lively chamber orchestra of four strings, clarinet and organ. The clarinet player, Guillermo Ramasala, gives a notably strong performance, somehow producing from the instrument an uncanny range of sounds. It’s a fantastic production which deserves to be more widely seen.

Reviewed on 1 November 2024