Alwyn: Miss Julie
Oramo/ BBCSO, Barbican, 3rd october 2019
“Crazy, utterly crazy!” No, not Miss Julie’s outrageous behaviour, dancing and cavorting with the servants on Midsummer’s Eve, but that William Alwyn’s operatic take on August Strindberg’s play could have been so neglected since its 1977 premiere. Who decides the fate of new operas, whether they become part of the repertoire? Critics play a part, but the severest review I could find of the radio broadcast of the first performance is “periodic slackness” (Opera, October 1977). Thankfully, Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra were on hand at the Barbican to deliver a concert staging that could rehabilitate the opera.
Anna Patalong (Miss Julie)
© BBC | Tom Howard
Click here to read the full review on Bachtrack.