Spain Handel, Jephtha (concert performance): Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Il Pomo d’Oro / Francesco Corti (conductor). Teatro Real, Madrid, 1.5.2025. (JMI)
Cast:
Jephtha – Michael Spyres
Iphis – Mélissa Petit
Storgé – Joyce DiDonato
Hamor – Jasmin White
Zebul – Cody Quattlebaum
Angel – Anna Piroli
This concert version of Jephtha at the Teatro Real marks the first performance of the work in the long history of the Madrid theatre. The plot is taken from the Bible and deals with the vow made by the warrior Jephtha, who – much like Idomeneo – promises to sacrifice to Jehovah the first human creature he meets if God will grant him victory against the Ammonites. On his victorious return, Jephtha encounters his daughter, Iphis, whose life is ultimately saved by Heaven’s intervention, and she is consecrated to God to whom she will offer her virginity and devotion.
Musically, Jephtha contains magnificent choral compositions, among Handel’s finest. We benefitted in Madrid from a solid orchestra and chorus and an outstanding quintet of soloists but, in my opinion, what was missing was musical direction with more life and variety than that offered by Francesco Corti. His reading was good, and at its best in Act III, but greater doses of emotion would have made this a triumph. The 17 choristers – including soprano Anna Piroli who also sang the role of the Angel who saves Iphis from death – were superb.
The part of the warrior Jephtha was sung by Michael Spyres, who has an excellent voice, worthy of a spinto-dramatic tenor. Spyres’s evolution is remarkable: he has gone from a light tenor to becoming one of Bayreuth’s regular (bari)tenors today. He particularly stood out in his aria in Act II, and it drew the biggest applause of the evening.
Beforehand, the Teatro Real in its announcements emphasized the presence of Michael Spyres and Joyce DiDonato as the opera’s protagonists. In fact, the part of Storgé, Jephtha’s wife and Iphis’s mother, is in some ways a secondary role: Jephtha, Iphis and even Hamor, Iphis’s fiancé, sing more than Storgé. However, American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato offered her beautiful voice and technique in the two arias she sang.
Iphis was Melissa Petit, who displayed a well-articulated light soprano and sang with gusto, especially in the second half of the opera. Her fiancé, Hamor, was contralto Jasmin White, who sang with a well-suited voice and a good line. It was my first time hearing her, and the impression she made was clearly positive.
Zebul was baritone Cody Quattlebaum, who I was also hearing for the first time. His voice has notable volume, although I wasn’t thrilled with the quality of his timbre. Finally, the Angel was sung by soprano Anna Pirolli, who did a fine job on her aria in the final scene which changes Iphis’s fate.
José M. Irurzun