M&V: 'Il re pastore' at Garsington

http://www.mvdaily.com/

'In some respects this much-used Metastasio libretto makes for a thin
piece of drama; yet potentially it has an undeniable dignity and
weight to it, which -- as Kent Opera proved just a few seasons back --
can, given the right design and emotional feel, chasten and beguile,
and indeed enlighten. The choice of this pleasant homily of a libretto
was imposed partly by the urgency with which it had to be written, to
celebrate the visit of (wait for it) Archduke Maximilian Franz Xaver
Josef Johan Anton de Paul Wenceslaus, the youngest of Maria Theresa's
sons and of Joseph II's brothers, to Salzburg (still a small
independent neighbouring state) in 1775, and also partly for its
lightly-worn tips on what best constitutes a "good" ruler.'

- Roderic Dunnett, writing in today's Music & Vision magazine

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