Whatever preconceptions you might have about an opera by an 11-year-old, even if the wonder child in question is Mozart, The First Commandment shatters them all. Written for Lent 1767 but far from pious and at times scurrilous, Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots – literally “the obligation of the first commandment” – meditates on a Christian’s imperative to “Love the Lord thy God”, merrily questioning the existence of the almighty at every turn. Mozart was in Salzburg at the time. Little wonder the suspicious archbishop saw fit, as the story goes, to lock the boy away to see if his compositional skills vanished without his father, Leopold, at his side to “help”. It was a wasted exercise, of course.
The opera is a rarity but far from unknown. Classical Opera performed it a decade ago at the Barbican, and have recorded it in the original German. Now in its third year of working chronologically through Mozart’s oeuvre, the company mounted a new staging at St John’s Smith Square last week, conducted by Ian Page and directed by Thomas Guthrie. It should have run for two nights. The attacks in Westminster on Wednesday forced the second performance to be cancelled. Apart from the regret on every conceivable level – Smith Square is a few hundred yards from Parliament and had to be shut – it is a shame that the excellent young cast and musicians, learning this unfamiliar repertoire with such diligence, lost the chance to play it twice over.
Here sung in English in Nigel Lewis’s wittily cliched translation, the work originally had two other parts, written by older composers (Michael Haydn and Anton Adlgasser) but now lost, mercifully. Nearly 80 minutes of static morality play is sufficiently corrective for most people. Not that it lacks interest; it’s wonderful fun. From the opening bars, the assurance and energy are mesmerising, often because the seeds of Mozart’s later greatness are so vividly in evidence: vocal fireworks and ingeniously textured orchestral writing, an aria with solo trombone obbligato, the unsubtle but amusing word painting as when a lion prowls or lost souls are swept to sea. Not one of the extended arias outstayed its welcome.
Following the tradition of a mystery play, The First Commandment features a half-hearted Christian who has succumbed to bodily pleasures. He is pulled back to godliness by the familiar allegorical posse of Compassion, Justice and Christian Spirit. Nothing is quite straightforward. Christian Spirit, vigorously sung and acted with comic fervour by Sam Furness, is himself all too fascinated by matters worldly. As Christian, Alessandro Fisher, battling bronchitis though you would scarcely have guessed from his warm, lyrical tone, took physical risks (swooning to the ground in a confined space) and had lovely, rakish charm. Rebecca Bottone’s Worldly Spirit, luring all along the paths of wickedness, was impudent and virtuosic. Gemma Summerfield (Compassion) and Helen Sherman (Justice) completed the first-class lineup. The production was nimble and effective, given that very little happens. Orchestra and continuo played with agility and gusto. If you haven’t yet been to one of Classical Opera’s Mozart 250 events, you still have time. Quite a lot. The project runs until 2041, culminating in the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s death.
Morality is not one of the cardinal points on the compass of BF Pinkerton, lieutenant in the US navy in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. “To think this plaything is my wife,” he says, drooling over the 15-year-old Cio-Cio-San. For him, possession is all, “even if I damage her wings”, he tells the Cassandrine consul, Sharpless, in one of the many insect images in this opera. At the end, in Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s 2003 production at the Royal Opera House, now revived for the sixth time, Butterfly flaps her long-sleeve kimono “wings”, hobbling broken and earth bound, towards her tragic destiny. In truth that last flap is on the edge of mawkish but it works.
There was a double imperative to see this revival: the conducting of Antonio Pappano, ROH music director and one of the all-time great Puccinians, and the appearance of the Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho in the title role. Both triumphed. Pappano tore into the prelude with exciting fury, and maintained ideal tempi throughout. The big moments, with fine solo violin, harp and woodwind especially, were a reminder that Puccini may not always have had much self-awareness (womaniser, dandy, show-off), but he had a shrewd understanding of humanity at large.
Jaho is ideal for the part, hollow-eyed and fragile with stylised white makeup accentuating her vulnerability. She sings with so much imagination and vocal colour, as well as living every second of the part. An attentive lunchtime matinee audience – yes, an odd time to put yourself voluntarily through the wringer – rose to its feet cheering. Marcelo Puente (Pinkerton) was grainy-toned but looked handsomely caddish. Scott Hendricks was a wise if feckless Consul. As Suzuki, Elizabeth DeShong, so luxuriously rich a mezzo and with formidable acting skills, was emotionally convincing and heartrendingly dignified. The same was true of Harry Langton, aged seven, in his silent stillness as Butterfly’s child. What a work, what a performance. See it live in cinemas on 30 March.
Star ratings (out of 5)
The First Commandment ★★★★
Madama Butterfly ★★★★
