Production is all-important for appreciating Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, one of those operas that doesn't send you home humming the tunes or caring much about what befalls its characters. And production is ideally tuned in English National Opera's new staging. Director Annabel Arden bowls it along at an even, rumbustious pace and with a neat dash of wit.
Arden suggests a homosexual affinity between the naive country lad Tom Rakewell and Mephistophelean Nick Shadow who "seduces" him into his progress through the corruption of the big city. These are sterling performances by Barry Banks and Gidon Saks whose camp mannerisms are a splendidly timed bonus to the character.
Maybe the Rake's Progress is not a comfortable opera but here its parts add up to an entertaining evening.
Stravinsky's opera is running until December 15. Box office 020 7632 8300.
December 7, 2001 15:56
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