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Oliver Mears Transforms Handel’s Semele Into a Brooding 1960s Hotel Drama

Critics clash over the production’s dark reinterpretation despite strong musical performances.

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Pretty Yende’s performance as Semele took until the second half to find its focus, and her intonation often faltered

Overview

  • The production opened on July 1 at Covent Garden and will run through July 18 in London’s Royal Opera House.
  • Mears recasts the opera as a brooding 1960s hotel drama, using stark lighting contrasts and modern props such as a sinister grate and a crackly record player in place of baroque spectacle.
  • Pretty Yende’s introspective Semele and Ben Bliss’s nuanced Jupiter earn acclaim for their vocal agility and emotional depth.
  • Christian Curnyn’s authoritative conducting anchors the staging with precise pacing and vibrant orchestral color.
  • Critics remain divided over the bleak conceptual approach even as they praise the cast and musical execution.