Set squarely in the 16th century, this late work by Gilbert and Sullivan uses the conventions of romantic opera of the 19th century. Director Jo Davies, however, updates the action to the 20th century at the time of Elizabeth II’s coronation. It is good to see ENO offering its first ever production of this relatively unfamiliar piece, but the result is a mixed bag: it seems torn between acknowledging the opera’s underlying seriousness and resorting to the burlesque style on which G&S had turned their backs.
Davies, who has done superb productions of Kiss Me Kate and Carousel for Opera North, is nothing if not thorough in her approach. She starts the evening with 1950s newsreel clips (“Rail Strike Chaos” runs one headline), shows the Yeomen in their off-duty changing rooms and turns the accusation against the unjustly imprisoned Colonel Fairfax from witchcraft to one of espionage. But the updating makes only partial sense – a threatened public hanging on Tower Green seems excessive even for the 1950s – and although the opera is about misplaced passion and unrequited love, Davies is determined to jolly things along.
