Iphigénie en Tauride review – stylised staging of opera of bloodthirsty priestesses and divine intervention
Coliseum, London English National Opera’s production of Gluck’s opera has strong leads in Christine Rice, Nick Pritchard and Jacques Imbrailo. But why is it sung in French? Human sacrifice first; ask questions later. The story of Iphigénie among the Taurians, adapted from Euripides by Gluck and his librettist Guillard in 1779, is being told at English National Opera for the first time. It’s sung in French – more on…
Key points
- English National Opera stages Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride for the first time, sung in French.
- Christine Rice, Nick Pritchard and Jacques Imbrailo lead the cast, with Jacques Imbrailo's Oreste standing out.
- A lighting glitch briefly halted the opening night during King Thoas's aria.
English National Opera has staged Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride for the first time, at the London Coliseum. The 1779 opera, adapted from Euripides by Gluck and librettist Guillard, is directed by Lyndsey Turner and sung in French.
The production places Iphigénie among many identical priestesses in wine-red dress, inside Soutra Gilmour's narrow rectangular set. Her task is to sacrifice strangers who reach the shore, and her next victim may be her unrecognised brother Orestes, until Diana intervenes.
Cast and staging
Christine Rice sings Iphigénie, Nick Pritchard is Pylades and Jacques Imbrailo is Oreste, with Morgan Pearse as Thoas and child soprano Zoe Houghton as Diana. David Bates conducts the ENO ensemble.
The reviewer notes the clinical look of Gilmour's design, including small bloodstains on the priestesses' aprons and rubber gauntlets worn while scrubbing the temple floor. The final battle is called unconvincing, but the closing tableau touching.
why mess with its USP?
— The Guardian reviewer
Language question
The review questions why the opera is sung in French when ENO's remit has long been to perform in English, noting that Blackheath Halls staged an English version last year. Surtitles are provided at the Coliseum.
