Comic opera minus the fizz: Telemann makes his Royal Opera debut

What do you like to do during the interval of an opera? A glass of fizz at the bar? An ice-cream or sorbet? The 80-minute interval after Act 2 of Die Walküre currently running at the Royal Opera House even allows for supper in a nearby restaurant (pre-booking recommended). Early in the 18th century, however, you could indulge in a musical interlude – or intermezzo – between acts of an opera seria. And so it was that, between the acts of Handel’s Tamerlano in 1725 at Hamburg’s Oper am Gänsemarkt, Telemann’s Pimpinone was first performed. 

Now, 300 years after that premiere, the work comes to the Linbury Theatre – the first Telemann ever to be staged by The Royal Opera. A comic two-hander, it is presented complete – minus the Handel – along with the three movements of Telemann’s Sinfonia spirituosa acting as overture and interludes between the… um, interludes. 

The title page of Pimpinone or The Unequal Marriage describes the work as “drei lustigen Zwischenspielen” (three amusing interludes). Humour can date, of course, but is Telemann’s work – which provided a contemporary breath of fresh air between the historical trappings of opera seria – actually that funny? 

An unemployed maid, Vespetta (= little wasp), takes a position working for the wealthy Pimpinone, seeking marriage to the old moneybag, a comic device similar to Pergolesi's La serva padrona or Donizetti's Don Pasquale. In the second scene, Vespetta threatens to leave because Pimpinone doesn’t treat her well, prompting him to lavish her with gifts and propose marriage. Several years into the marriage, Vespetta rebels against her downtrodden status and demands emancipation. 

Director Sophie Gilpin deflects the ‘cunning woman manipulates rich bachelor into marriage’ scenario of the original and sets the opera as a 1960s sitcom. Some of the humour outstays its welcome, but there are a couple of genuinely funny moments, such as when the peacock-ish Pimpinone presents Vespetta with a new dress, cut from the same cloth as his garish shirt.

Anna Yates’ set creates a bachelor pad complete with party space, which also serves as a giant wedding cake. The first scene has Vespetta serving Champagne, dressed as a Christmas tree, her manners – very demure – securing her new employment. Pimpinone’s safe is secreted behind his portrait and, in the third scene, he reads a copy of The Daily Telegraph which sports the headline “Equal Pay Bill Approved”. 

Jette Parker Artists Grisha Martirosyan and Isabela Díaz are good sports, throwing themselves into the exaggerated comedy with high energy. Martirosyan has a juicy baritone and nimble patter – including falsetto passages about gossiping neighbours – while Díaz’s rich soprano sounded secure in her high notes, even if her German diction wasn’t always clear. 

There’s something odd about hearing early opera buffa – which is essentially what Pimpinone is – sung in German... and it’s not what Telemann intended. His arias retained the Italian of Pietro Pariati’s original libretto, which had already been set to music by Albinoni in 1708, while Johann Philipp Praetorius’ recitatives were composed in German, along with a couple of extra musical numbers Telemann added. For whatever reason, we get the entire thing in German which occasionally impedes these fine young singers. 

Peggy Wu conducted a dozen string players from the English National Opera Orchestra in an earnest account of Telemann’s score, even if the music didn’t always fizz off the page. Perhaps they need a drop of the bubbly Vespetta serves up.