The Barbican performance of Handel’s Jephtha took time to live up to its promise

United Kingdom Handel, Jephtha (concert performance): Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Il Pomo d’Oro / Francesco Corti (conductor). Barbican Centre, London, 7.5.2025. (CSa)

Cast:
Jephtha – Michael Spyres
Storgé – Joyce Di Donato
Iphis – Mélissa Petit
Hamor – Jasmin White
Zebul – Cody Quattlebaum
Angel – Anna Piroli

In 1751, George Frideric Handel, approaching the last decade of his life and almost blind, turned to his regular librettist, the classical scholar and Anglican clergyman Thomas Morell to adapt the Old Testament story of Jephtha. Jephtha, son of Gilead was both a judge and a warrior chosen by the Israelites to lead them in battle against the hostile Ammonites. Jephtha rashly promises God that, if victorious, he will sacrifice the first living thing he sees when he comes home. Triumph descends into tragedy when the person he sees is his only child, Iphis. Horrified but bound by his vow, Jephtha condemns Iphis to death, a fate she accepts with noble dignity. In a more redemptive modification of the original text, Iphis is spared by the intervention of an angel and consecrates her life to religious service.

The themes of cruel fate, divine judgment, suffering and resignation marble their way through Morell’s dramatic transcription and are reflected in some of Handel’s most glorious music. The work is an expression of the composer’s intense physical struggle and profound spiritual questioning at that time. Indeed, there are moments in which biblical narrative and Handel’s psychological suffering align. One such instance occurred on February 13th, 1751, while setting the chorus ‘How dark, O Lord, are thy decrees, All hid from mortal sight,’ a moment in the score when the Israelites question the shockingly divine command to sacrifice Iphis.  Handel noted despairingly on the manuscript ‘Reached here on this date, unable to go on because of weakening sight’.

Written as an oratorio and less often staged as an opera, it is difficult to convey the full drama of Handel’s masterpiece in concert form, particularly one in which the largely American quintet of soloists delivered their parts reading the scores while standing behind music stands. Notwithstanding a stellar cast and instances of some wonderful singing, it took time for singers, chorus and orchestra to coalesce. One had to wait until the second half for the performance to ignite, and for the sheer power and beauty of the composer’s last oratorio to unfold.

As Jephtha, Missouri-born ‘baritenor’ Michael Spyres excelled. His voice was both pure and commanding and his vocal range extraordinary. Equally comfortable in the Baroque repertoire of Handel as in Heldentenor Wagnerian roles, he sang with great agility and technical precision. Elaborate arias such as ‘His mighty arm, with sudden blow’, replete with death-defying runs, scales and other virtuosic flourishes, were boldly executed with seeming ease, and his rendition of the ethereal Air ‘Waft her, angels, through the skies’ was infused with solemn beauty and a sense of heavenly calm

The part of Storgè, Jephtha’s wife and the mother of their daughter Iphis, was sung by coloratura mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. She has been justifiably described by The New York Times as ‘one of the most potent singers of her generation’, and her honeyed mezzo and dazzling technique can frequently hold an audience spellbound. Although Storgè’s role is crucial to the narrative, Handel gave her only two arias, both of which were pleasingly, but on this occasion, somewhat underwhelmingly delivered.

Iphis – all innocence, filial duty, and spiritual grace – is emotionally and musically pivotal to the work. The part was affectingly sung by soprano Mélissa Petit. Her silver voice brought a weightless delicacy to early arias such as ‘The smiling dawn of happy days,’ while her later airs, ‘Welcome as the cheerful light’ and ‘Happy they; this vital breath’ floated gossamer-light across the auditorium.

Jasmin White took the role of Hamor, a fictional character who does not feature in the original biblical story. He is portrayed by Morell as a warrior, and Iphis’s Israelite lover. The part is more frequently sung by a countertenor, but White’s rich and aqueous contralto contrasted effectively with Petit’s lighter voice and gave depth to their Part I duet ‘These labours past, how happy we.’

Zabul, another of Morell’s invented characters, was designed to narrate and comment on events and to provide much-needed emotional support during his brother’s cri de coeur. Robed in black, bearded, and with a magnificent mane of shoulder length hair, stentorian baritone Cody Quattlebaum made a for credible Old Testament figure, although one who bore a passing resemblance to JK Rowling’s Rubeus Hagrid. Arias such as ‘Pour forth no more unheeded pray’rs’ and ‘Freedom now once more possessing’ were sung with bold expressivity, and Quattlebaum, like his fantastical doppelgänger, added a little magic to the proceedings.

Directing the historically informed Orchestra and Choir Il Pomo d’Oro from one of two very beautiful harpsichords, Franceso Corti recreated a burnished and rich soundworld which Handel would have readily recognised. Alexandre Zanetta and Olivier Mourault who alternated skilfully between valveless trumpets and natural horns, and Marta Gawlas who enchanted with her historical transverse flute were particularly noteworthy. Last, but not least, a glittering contribution from soprano Anna Piroli who emerged from the 17 strong chorus to sing the part of the Angel.

Chris Sallon