---

---

Edinburgh Studio Opera and Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra enchant the audience with their sublime rendition of Handel’s Semele.

---

Handel’s Semele performed by Edinburgh Studio Opera with Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra, and directed by Roxana Fischbacher, at the Pleasance Theatre is a captivating baroque opera where the divine and human realms become exquisitely interwoven. Its magnificent melodies, astonishing arias, and coruscating choruses mirror the potent desires driving the narrative’s core. The forbidden love story becomes a canvas for extraordinary vocal artistry, each note painting an entrancing picture of the ramifications of trying to get one’s appetite for desire satiated.

The Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra delivered thrilling, emotion-charged, and rousing music led by the masterful Kristine Donnan. She directed the animated ensemble consisting of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments with vigor, discipline, and passion. The orchestra was full-bodied, spirited, and smoothly synchronized – a solid and uplifting foundation for the show’s action, mood, and atmosphere. Valerie Thibault brought fear and suspense during dramatic moments and helped create a terrifically tense and precarious environment on stage.

The production for Semele was incredible. Freya Game’s lighting blanketed the stage in luscious celestial light that made for ethereal and beautiful viewing. Some notable examples of the lighting were the frightening flashes of lightning accompanied by the loud crackling of thunder that abruptly interrupted the wedding ceremony. Also, her use of lighting provided moments of hope – addictive shreds of light that would poke through, emulating natural blinding sunlight that stylistically illuminated the faces of the actors on stage. I also loved the use of red and blue gels to create ambiance and echo the emotional dynamic of a scene and the temperaments the characters were in. Elana Mulligan’s set design created a fantastic Ancient Greek aesthetic that was fun and fluid, giving the players and singers alike a lot to work with, especially in full cast moments. The set pieces were used effectively, and the staging enabled dynamic movement and positioning for the performers’ exchanges. This made the show even more engaging to watch, as every set piece had a purpose and was frequently utilized by various characters. The costumes by Charlotte Foster were truly stunning, well-made, and reeked of grandeur, wealth, and status. They matched the Ancient Greek aesthetic perfectly as well as the personality of each of the characters. I loved how she used costumes to divide the characters based on their mortality, emotional states, standpoints, and relations to one another. The starkest examples of this were Semele, Ino, Jupiter, and Juno. As well as the careful consideration of colour, material, and cut, even the way the costume was draped on each performer expressed who the character they were portraying was.  

The entire cast of Semele is sensational. The chorus excelled at working as one synchronized body, moving from moments of tranquility to raucous chaos with no difficulty. Their little engagements and interactions demonstrated their dedication, focus, and concentration as a chorus, and their commitment immersed the audience further into the opera. We felt like members of the drama and calamity that was going on in the action of Semele. The melodies among the cast chimed and were mesmerizing; these moments made the opera feel truly mythical, magical, and special. The main cast demonstrated how multi-skilled and talented they were by merging their astounding musical skill with impressive acting and movement ability and really brought Handel’s work to life. Claire Gilchrist as Semele owned the stage, gliding in movement as much as her vocals did up and down arpeggios. Her vibrato was intoxicating, and her angelic vocals were wondrous. She made the theatre an echo chamber of bliss, inviting us all into her world of desire, longing, and ambition. Lina Turner as Ino used wonderful facial expressions and bolstered around the stage amazingly portraying absolute disgrace, disgust, and distress. This forced her to never leave our sight when she was on stage. Madison Cozens was an operatic powerhouse who filled the space with her insane earthy and vengeful vocals. Harry Lempriere-Johnstone was striking and great as the adulterous and short-tempered Jupiter and offered a unique and articulate voice to the opera.  

In sum, this production of Handel’s Semele is astonishing and a massive success across the board. From the magnificent music produced by the superb and professional Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra to the unanimous stellar performances from Edinburgh Studio Opera, this version of Semele is impressive and entertaining throughout. Further congratulations to the crew and production team that made it happen. Make sure to see this before it closes! It was my first opera, and I found it easy to understand and accessible as a newcomer. I could follow the plot and the characters’ journeys with ease and thoroughly enjoyed myself.