Review: MacBeth, St James' Piccadilly

REVIEW
Sometimes as a reviewer you attend an event, everything works out well, and yet you're left with the suspicion that somewhere along the line there's been a missed opportunity.

English Opera Singers' concert performance of Verdi's MacBeth at St James' Church in Piccadilly was a case in point.

The cast, hand picked for their voices, were, for the most part, phenomenal.

Robert Presley, MacBeth, gave a sensational performance that was solid throughout and his wife, sung by Docklands soprano Beatrice Danesfield was also excellent after she warmed up from a tricky first appearance.

Special mention must also be made of tenor John Upperton's MacDuff, which was superb, not to mention pianist Kelvin Lim's marathon effort - barely a slip despite the hefty score involved.

As a whole the company produced a well rounded, soaring sound of a very high standard, well suited to the acoustic and a delight in every way. It was, for the more or less faultless.

The reason this concert falls short of five stars, however, has little to do with the performances. It's more to do with the telling of the story.

Having interviewed Danesfield before the performance, I realise choosing to perform this opera in concert rather than in costume on a stage was intended to let the music speak for itself without all the distractions of acting and spectacle.

But sitting in the audience I'm not sure this approach really worked. And to be honest, I'm not certain the cast were certain either.

MacBeth is a story that needs to be told instead of presented in somewhat disjointed musical chunks. People die, there's suspense, intrigue and madness. But without the appropriate acting to go alongside the music, Verdi's piece loses something and on this occasion it was something important.

I'm sure there are those who would say the drama is conveyed sufficiently by the music itself. But I don't agree. The fact the singers chose in some cases to bring a little acting into the performance - going off, coming on, a bit of body language here and there - and the slight suspicion of a costume in the white suit of Lady MacBeth resulted in frustration.

This was a concert crying out for a stage and all its trappings and I think it would have been a more complete presentation of the work had they been in evidence.