Schubertiade

Schubert Makes Everything Better

Schubertiade

Music by Franz Schubert words by various including Wilhelm Müller and Wolfgang von Goethe

Rose Opera at Leighton House, Kensington, 10^th November

Review by Patrick Shorrock

This was a delightful evening, with some of Schubert’s best-known songs performed by some talented singers in the glorious setting of Leighton House. 

Pedants might say that this high camp Victorian setting isn’t a perfect fit for Schubert who is from a rather earlier period.  But Leighton House is well worth a visit in its own right, both for the sensational Arab Hall, with its indoor fountain and glorious blue tiles, and also for the many drawings, paintings, and sculptures by the cosmopolitan Lord Leighton, who had this house built for him as both studio and residence.   

Leighton is now rather unfashionable but was admired, popular, and respectable in his day and his sculptured men (such as The Sluggard and Athlete struggling with a Python) and objectified women (such as Solitude, Flaming June or the Bath of Psyche or the voluptuous nymphs in the Garden of the Hesperides) all carry a strong charge even if they feel rather old fashioned. 

Holding this recital at a house – even such an unusual one – gave the evening an intimacy and informality that brought us closer to the original Schubertiades: informal gatherings held in private homes to promote Schubert’s music by wealthy patrons.  The one thing that was missing was that the singers sang their songs in individual chunks and only appeared together for their final bow, even though Schubert wrote quite a few songs that were designed for joint performance. 

The concert began a little tentatively with a score-bound performance of some songs from Die Schöne Müllerin from tenor David Menezes.  This was very far from the complete cycle and the sense of an emotional journey was missing.   Mezzo Lorna Perry launched her set with Heidenröslein (Wild Rose) a song with a deep Freudian undercurrent about a boy plucking a rose that was unable to prevent him but retaliated by pricking him.  She used a real red rose as a prop, which brought the song wonderfully to life.  Her ability to put her songs across with a variety of vocal colour was impressive over a range of moods from the calm of Du bist die Ruh, to the angst of Der Wegweiser and the grandeur of An die Musik. 

Tamara Ravenhill thrilled the audience with her two songs in Italian that closed the first half.  She has a formidably large and supple voice that made light of the technical challenges of La Pastorella and the hysteria of Vedi, quanto adoro anchora. 

She then returned to start the second half and revealed that she was just as effective at sustaining a long musical phrase in quieter songs, such as Frülingsglaube and Suleika 1.  Ian Helm then gave us a selection from Schwanengesang.  He communicated the mood of the songs forcefully, but he didn’t quite have the vocal beauty and evenness of tone that Lieder really require. 

To finish, we had the marvellous Shepherd on the Rock with its wonderful additional part for clarinet (Sheena Balmain).  Zöe Jackson had no difficulty with the formidable coloratura challenges, which showed her lovely voice off to advantage.  It was a shame that the final fast section somehow didn’t quite take off in the way that it should, inhibited by an understandable element of caution just at the point when you wanted them all to relax and speed up.  But it was still a joy to hear. 

Rose Opera are clearly a very talented company – not least their fluently chameleon accompanist Matthew Rickard – and give every sign of having what it takes to produce a full Tosca with orchestra, soloists and chorus next May. 

Patrick Shorrock, November 2023

Photography by Joshua Janesson and Rose Opera