That’s what came to my mind after I watched the DVD release of the Salzburg Festival’s staged production of Theodora. It’s my favourite Händel piece, and I saw and heard it for the first time on youtube of all places, in the form of a magnificent Glyndebourne production from the mid 90’s. The story, the staging, the singers, the acting, everything seemed to have an emotional impact on me. So when I heard of the new DVD I knew I just had to have it, if only to quench my curiosity. And it is indeed difficult to not compare the two.
In terms of overall singing I still might favour the earlier version – however Bejun Mehta makes a very convincing Didymus and can certainly fill the shoes of David Daniels (amusingly, Bejun Mehta credits Daniels for indirectly kick-starting his adult singing career), and Bernarda Fink sings the role of Irene with a kind of maternal stage authority. I find Christine Schäfer in the title role sometimes sings more dramatically staccato than is required – somehow the Italian Bel Canto passion seems out of place in this oratorio – and a rather thick accent sadly doesn’t help the flowing of lines along.
As for Didymus’ friend Septimius, Joseph Kaiser does a pretty good job. The fast coloratura sometimes gets the better of him, but his tone is pleasant, powerful but still restrained, and his acting is superb.
My initial disappointment for omitting Irene’s aria ”Bane of virtue” was replaced by the breathtaking rendition of Didymus’ aria ”Deeds of kindness”, which had been just another ”good aria” in the previous version, but here it really stands out. Bejun Mehta can sometimes overdo things a little with his powerful vibrato and creative ornamentation, but in this he held back and the piano parts were deliciously soft and subtle.
No other big arias were excluded as far as I can remember (although a few small ones were turned into recits) but they did however add an organ concerto in the middle of act 3. I was a little confused at the idea at first but it did add another nuance to the acting as, during the four movements of the concerto, the psychological tension between the characters was highlighted and a shift in psychological power from Valens to Theodora was even implied.
The end of the third act, where Theodora and Didymus are given their death sentences and even executed in the Glyndebourne production, has always been among my favourite moments. This version seemed to play more on the couple’s strength and their contentment with their fate, underlining a victorious ending to the oratorio instead of a merely tragic one. The final duet is powerful and beautiful, but in this production, even more so the last chorus, where the camera focuses on the crying Septimius, who previously torn between loyalty towards the separate parties, now realises what he allowed to happen.
I watched this last night and already I want to watch it again. And because I’ve already spent a good hour trying to find the right words to describe my listening and watching experience, I’ll let you watch the final duet ”Streams of pleasure ever flowing” and make your own judgements.
