Royal Opera House stages first full opera on its main stage in 14 months

Last night, the Royal Opera House performed its first opera production on Covent Garden’s main stage since lockdown began in March 2020. Richard Jones’ staging of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito was a pared down affair: instead of imperial Rome, we had a drab post-war domestic setting – a tale of ordinary folk whose probity is put to the test: a moral tale for our time, and perhaps indicative of the need for post-pandemic austerity – opera without too many frills and thrills. Mozart’s work was clearly staged with pandemic rules in mind, with only six characters, a small orchestra and a chorus with very little to do (piped from off-stage in this case.) The audience meanwhile were dutifully seated apart, clearly delighted to be back in the theatre but also disorientated by the cautious, low-key atmosphere that marked the first step to normality at the ROH. Jones’ production felt underwhelming in the early scenes, but grew in spirit and confidence, with finely drawn characters in the lead roles: Egaras Montvidas as the hapless Tito, Nicole Chevalier as a wonderfully scheming Vitellia and Emily D’Angelo, moving as Sesto.

This was a poised, unassuming starting-point for the Royal Opera’s post-pandemic renaissance. With the lifting of restrictions promised on 21 June, perhaps we can expect some greater panache and excitement in the scheduled performances of La Bohème and Don Giovanni.