![]() ![]() Hytner takes the convoluted strands of political and personal relationships in 16th-century Spain and knots them superbly. Elsewhere, Hytner's production remains impressive, closely related to Schiller in feel, as one would expect from someone who directed the play on which Verdi's opera was based. ![]() On the plus side, the Priest Inquisitor now mutely delivers his roll call rather than noisily inviting the heretics to repent, but the chorus still jeers and hisses loudly. Excising the bonfire leaves the Act 3 finale underwhelming, particularly when the Voice of Heaven was so poorly miked. ![]() This is one of a few tweaks to this scene, with the screen depicting Christ's face streaked with blood replaced by a dais for twin thrones, Jesus half-smilingly looking down on the royal couple. Has Health and Safety finally caught up with the Spanish Inquisition? Yet this third revival of Nicholas Hytner's 2008 production was a flameless affair without a single barbecued heretic. “What a day, what a day for an auto-da-fé” sings the chorus in Bernstein's Candide, “It's a lovely day for drinking and for watching people fry!” The Royal Opera Chorus even tweeted this lyric yesterday ahead of its participation in opera's other auto-da-fé, Verdi's Don Carlo. ![]()
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