The Royal Opera House’s revival of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, with libretto by WH Auden and Chester Kallman and directed by Robert Lepage, met with mixed reviews on its first production in 2008, but this confident revival shows that any initial difficulties have been more than dealt with. With its mix of pointed satire, constantly intriguing neo-classical score and poetic wit, it has been extremely popular ever since its first production in 1947, and this suitably gutsy staging more than does credit to it.
Loosely based on Hogarth’s series of 18th century paintings that explored the decline and fall of a decadent wastrel, Stravinsky, Auden and Kallman instead focus on Tom Rakewell (Toby Spence), an amiable ne’er-do-well without a penny to his name who is in love with the similarly sweet Ann Trulove (Rosemary Joshua). The match looks doomed until he falls in with the enigmatic Nick Shadow (Kyle Ketelsen), who offers him vast fortunes from a mysterious ‘uncle’ and a suitably glitzy career in a world that Lepage evokes as 50s America.
The singing from all the leads, especially Ketelsen, is fine, and the conducting by Ingo Metzmacher is suitably energetic, responding to all the subtleties and ironic nods to neo-classicism in Stravinsky’s score. The costume and set designs are lavish and elaborate – at one point an inflatable caravan appears on stage – and if, finally, this isn’t the most profound of productions, it’s certainly one of the more enjoyable.
Royal Opera House, Bow Street WC2. Until 3 February. www.roh.org.uk
