Welsh National Opera's production of Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict was acclaimed when it first appeared seven years ago. Directed by Elijah Moshinsky, it marries wit and passion with a vision of love both idealistic and realistic. Its present revival, conducted by the spirited Jean-Yves Ossonce, is still delightful.
Berlioz idolised Shakespeare, and in setting Much Ado About Nothing saw himself as repaying the debt of a lifetime. But there is an irony implicit in his French adaptation, since it inevitably compromised the poetic integrity he found so inspiring. In his English production, Moshinsky's solution was to bring back the Shakespeare. Replacing Berlioz's words with the original dialogue restored a natural elegance and exuberance.
A deeper irony lay in the fact that, for all his alleged reverence, Berlioz was not above creating the eccentric choirmaster, Somarone, a character that has no connection with Shakespeare. It seems churlish to make much of this when Donald Maxwell's performance earns the biggest laughs of the evening, with ad-libbing worthy of a stand-up comic. However, the knockabout antics serve only to underline their basic incongruity. Here is an indulgence that revival director Robin Tebbutt could have curbed.
Michael Yeargan has designed a Sicilian palazzo terrace that conjures up a romantic idyll, acted out in the marriage of Hero (the radiant Rebecca Evans) with Claudio. The sky glows with changing colours that seem to reflect the ever-fluctuating emotions of real life and love.
Berlioz's capricious score brilliantly mirrors the frisson and friction of the central plot, where events conspire to make the eponymous couple recognise their true feelings. Yet while Ann Murray's waspish Beatrice and Paul Nilon's petulant Benedict imply that theirs will always be a love-hate relationship with plenty of fireworks, the women's trio contemplating married bliss has a gorgeous, seemingly heartfelt intensity. Perhaps Berlioz just liked to pretend he was cynical.
At Sadler's Wells, London EC1 (020-7863 8000), tomorrow and Saturday.
