REVIEW: TESTAMENT by Green Opera, Grimeborn Opera Festival at Arcola Theatre 16 – 19 July 2025
‘Beautiful singing with a fractured narrative thread’ ★★★
Testament offers segments from three operas, with singers shifting between roles as they move from one piece to another. Splicing together Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared, and Libby Larsen’s Try Me, Good King, the production’s aim was to explore “humanity’s evolving relationship with nature”. While this was clear in the final piece from Janáček’s opera, the link was tenuous with the other two pieces.
That we shifted from one opera to another also meant that we never achieved an emotional investment in the characters or each of the stories. It was a shame as the singers were skilled vocally and many of them were great actors too. I’m a lover of Monteverdi, but musically, the shift from Tancredi to Larsen’s piece was jarring and I wonder if they would have been better to choose a later piece to open the show.
Shafali Jalota, the Mezzo who sang Clorinda in the Monteverdi was sublime. The myriad colours and rich tone of her voice meant she shone as one of the vocal stars of the show. The only man in the cast, Brenton Spiteri whose tenor voice was beautifully rounded, was also a great actor.
The women’s trios were exquisite. The “Nightingale” trio was a particular delight and really lifted the show. Libby Larsen’s Try Me, Good King was also intriguing.
I feel Tobias Millard’s direction could have done more to connect the pieces together. He did this at a couple of points, but it needed more. If there was an overarching narrative which bound the three opera extracts together, I missed it, and it felt like Millard missed opportunities to make this clearer. Also, at times it felt like the singers were being arranged in tableaux rather than creating connections and relationships with each other, though the performers did what they could to compensate for that. It looked nice but I craved more emotional connection.
The set was simple but effective.
Overall, while the singers were gifted, the shunting together of three operas did not really work as I think the company intended. Shame, as I think the company has great potential.
TESTAMENT at Arcola Theatre 16 – 19 July 2025
Company: Green Opera
Dates: 16 – 19 July 2025
https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/testament/
Performers: Natalka Pasicznyk, Emily Hodkinson, Shafali Jalota, Katherine McIndoe, Brenton Spiteri,
Director: Tobias Millard
Musical Director/Pianist: Alex Raineri
Producer: Eleanor Burke, Brenton Spiteri
Music by: Claudio Monteverdi, Leoš Janáček, Libby Larsen,
Stage Manager: Juliet Hague
Assistant Director: Stanley Lawson
Set and Costume Designer: Kit Hinchcliffe
Assistant Set and Costume Designer: Olivia Gough
Production Manager: Sean Laing
Lighting Designer: Cheng Keng
Movement Director: Emilia Cadenasso
Violin: Pietro Genova Gaia, Naomi Burrell
Cello: Carolina Lopez del Nero
Reviewer: Srabani Sen
Srabani is a theatre actress and playwright. As an actress she has performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (The Globe), the Arcola, Southwark Playhouse, The Pleasance and numerous fringe theatres, in a range of roles from Shakespeare to plays by new and emerging writers. She has written several short and full length plays. Her play Tawaif was longlisted for the ETPEP Finborough award, and her play Vijaya was shortlisted for the Sultan Padamsee Playwrights Award in Mumbai.
