Elegy for Young Lovers
Young Vic, in rep until 8 May
Albert Herring
Blackheath Halls
Hans Werner Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers, with a libretto by Auden and Chester Kallman, is less familiar than one might expect. Never recorded complete, it has rarely been performed in the UK since Glyndebourne staged it in 1963. Yet in the excellent new production at the Young Vic, the concentration awarded by the audience was instantly apparent, and maintained throughout the three hours the piece lasts. ENO has got Fiona Shaw to direct, and one of the results is that the performers behave like human beings rather than opera singers, and even speak their lines — there is a considerable amount of spoken dialogue — naturally. That, combined with the skill with which Auden (I shall use his name only from now on) gets the piece under way, makes for a set of immediately credible characters.
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