Emotional Realism

Ariodante, composed by George Frideric Handel, with a libretto by Antonio Salvi. Drottningholm Palace Theatre, August 2019.

FROM THE MOMENT I first glimpsed the Drottningholm Palace Theatre—a well-preserved eighteenth-century gem located just outside of Stockholm—I was dying to see an opera there. On my initial visit, which took place in June of 2018, nothing was being performed, and I had to satisfy myself with a backstage tour that showcased all the building’s curious features. These included the wooden walls, floor, and ceiling, variously painted or papier-machéd to look like marble; the antique symmetrical sets that slid onto the stage from the left and right wings; a variety of low-tech devices for creating sound effects like thunder or wind; and chandeliers that had once held candles and now sported tiny incandescent bulbs which wavered just like candle light. I was charmed but also frustrated, since this small sampling of the theater’s wonders only made me long for the full display.

I had to wait over a year, but in the end I got my wish, and the manner in which it arrived could not have been better. Handel’s is a great opera in just about any form (I loved Harry Bicket’s concert version when it played at