The regal sapphire gown of a visiting princess complements the practical workwear of the household where power games are played out.

The slimy confines of a prison glow into the gilded walls of an opulent palace. Molly O’Cathain’s set and costume designs favour gold and blue, while Sinéad Wallace’s superb lighting paints the scene. This Bajazet exists in a time of its own, when flowing gowns and crowns co-exist alongside hypodermic needles and zips. Tamerlano (James Laing) gets his jab from Idaspe (Aoife Miskelly) She has a great gift for letting the music, first and foremost, tell the story, with the simplest of aids to enhance character and plot. Thomas directed a thrilling Handel's Berenice in the Linbury in 2019. And with Bajazet, director Adele Thomas also looks at a powerful man who has bullied his way to the top. With its steely kitchen and pole-dancing, Katie Mitchell’s cluttered production of Theodora is all about modern abuses of power. While downstairs in the Linbury Theatre, Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s 1735 opera Bajazet gets its first Opera House production.Īnd if these sound like a couple of fossils, look again. In the main house at Covent Garden, the Royal Opera’s new production of Handel’s Theodora breaks a 272-year silence since its premiere there. You know how it is, you wait and wait for a neglected Baroque masterpiece, then two come along at once.

Vivaldi bajazet opera