Reviews of Tamerlano, London Handel Festival 2026
Director Orpha Phelan tells us in her programme notes that the original audiences would have likely known the story of the Mongol leader Tamerlain which explains why many of the details are vague...Phelan tackles this by broadening the scope, universalising the characters into recognisable historic figures and, most importantly, not taking things too seriously! Many directors try to rationalise the tonal whiplash you get from da capo arias but Phelan pushed these characters almost caricature level but not sacrificing depth and chemistry.
James Laing was a real powerhouse as the tyrannical Tamerlano – whilst there was the obvious Trump allusion, it didn't come across like a flat parody; he made the role his own through his effortless stage presence and physical comedy. A highlight of the whole show was him snatching a violin from the orchestra and proceeding to scissor through its strings before snapping it over his knee, all whilst maintaining a playful melisma. His commitment to a role so physical the likes of which you don't often see in opera was refreshing. Benjamin Hulett as the tortured father Bajazet gave a very sensitive and delicate edge to what could be a whiny character – a nicely focussed tone that traversed the touch melancholic moments with ease. Nardus Williams really caught a nice independence in Asteria, a real sense of agency both in her acting and through the music. A beautiful warm tone that filled the townhall with a striking clarity. Jake Ingbar plays a rather cool and dignified Andronico – again a character that could feel very one note – but he gives him a real depth from the contemplative to the passionate. A bold and colourful voice that could not only blend seamlessly in the duets with Asteria but also hold his own, shaping each phrase with a delicate yet energetic musicality. Kitty Whately brought an elegance and poise to Irene – always holding her own in the cast. There’s a real power in her voice that never overwhelmed or felt out of place – wish she had more to sing! Jonathan Brown brought his dark-grained baritone to Leone, who in this production played a Freud-like character running the opera as some sort of meta social experiment, while again not always have all that much to do, he shined in his aria ‘Love brings war and peace’ in act 2 which gave Brown a moment to really let go and have fun.
The academy of ancient music lead by Laurence Cummings was on top form. With some brisk tempo and ranges of baroque orchestral colour (flutes, oboes and recorders) it never felt flat and filled the space nicely
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An overall refreshing evening, directors almost ‘need’ to be taking risks when it comes to Handel so Phelan’s broadening of Tamerlano was very welcome. There wasn't a moment that wasn't considered and thought through. At no point was a performer left to their own devices trying to fill the time. A fun, bold and a bit silly (in the best possible way) evening!
Opera Now, Jonathan Whiting **** Read more
The opera is one of many that Handel wrote as part of London’s craze for the Italian opera seria form – which featured multiple arias for its virtuoso singers – and began when he himself composed Rinaldo in 1711. When Tamerlano was first staged, it was set in the Ottoman Empire but in Phelan’s production we find it to be part of a Freudian experiment, in which Sigmund himself appears with a flipboard as he investigates different forms of tyranny over the centuries.
The anachronisms pile up – but if you worry about such things, maybe this is the wrong place for you entirely. Phelan’s witty take, the fourth in the series offered up by the London Handel Festival’s innovative Handel Opera Studio, instantly brings a freshness to the story that famously also inspired Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great. Countertenor James Laing’s antics may seem like easy comedy – at one point he performs the Trump YMCA dance, at another he petulantly pulls a violin from an orchestral player and cuts its strings. Yet we all know – at a visceral level – about the abuse and geopolitical catastrophe that accompanies such narcissistic clowning, and this plugs us straight into the intent of the original libretto.
The Arts Desk, Rachel Halliburton Read more
Director Orpha Phelan’s production sets the opera in the round, using both space enclosed by audience (itself on a couple of levels) and the stage itself. Her idea is to see characters as archetypes that can be equated to famous personages and which therefore span different eras simultaneously, most obviously the meshing of the despot Tamerlano and one Donald Trump, esq, all self-importance, blue jacket, red tie and McDonald’s carry-outs. There is even a reference to ‘impeachment;’ in the sung text. The lesser role of Leone is Sigmund Freud (sung with firmness and acted with real character by Jonathan Brown), which chimes in with the supertitle announcement this is ‘Social Experiment 2.0,’ seems to be puppet master. Bajazet is a Renaissance painter, I think Galilei, while Andronico is Alexander the Great. Irene seems representative of a Jane Austen heroine. This results in a sort of character dissociation, which instead of being a negative, makes the conceit of Freud all the more effective. Characters not directly involved in the ongoing action tend to stay on stage, which means we see characters from multiple “angles” in the director’s own words. The English translation of the libretto plays with the character juxtapositions.
Opera Today, Colin Clarke Read more