Tchouhadjian: Gariné ***
Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre, 14th August 2015
Last night, Glyndebourne presented Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serailat the Proms, a tale of intrigue in a Turkish harem. At Grimeborn Festival, a grungy, hip East End alternative, we had the genuine article: Gariné, an opera buffa by Turkish/Armenian composer Dikran Tchouhadjian, first staged in 1875. Various claims have been made about the composer, such as “the Armenian Verdi” and “the Ottoman Offenbach”, but Tchouhadjian’s music – especially in English translation – has the unfortunate habit of sounding like a Constantinopolitan Arthur Sullivan, with a few oriental curlicues and minor harmonic passages thrown in.
Danae Eleni (Gariné) and Leon Berger (Hor Hor)
© Robert Workman
Read the full review on Bachtrack.