Multiple reviews discuss Carl Maria von Weber’s final opera, “Oberon,” at London’s Royal Albert Hall as a Proms presentation. The production uses a new narration, delivered by Tamsin Greig, alongside the Monteverdi Choir and the ORR (Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique) led by Mark Elder. Reviewers describe the opera’s plot as a fantastical mix of pirates, princesses, mermaids, fairies, and a magic horn, involving a French knight and an Arabian beloved who undergo trials to help fairy king Oberon resolve an argument with queen Titania. Sources note that the work, first premiered at Covent Garden in 1826, has a complex lineage: its English libretto is based on a German poem, which itself draws on a French chivalric romance. While commentators acknowledge the charm and musical strengths of the staging and performances, they also say the 200-year-old opera remains a difficult hybrid—part panto and part grand opera—and that its patchwork dialogue and outdated or challenging attitudes make it less fully convincing in modern performance. Overall coverage presents the Proms premiere as a significant but uneven revival.
Weber’s final opera Oberon receives Proms staging at Royal Albert Hall
Multiple reviews discuss Carl Maria von Weber’s final opera, “Oberon,” at London’s Royal Albert Hall as a Proms presentation. The production uses a new narration, delivered by Tamsin Greig, alongside...
- “Oberon” is staged at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Proms.
- The performance features a new narration by Tamsin Greig.
- Mark Elder leads the ORR with the Monteverdi Choir.
- The opera was first premiered at Covent Garden in 1826 and has a libretto based on a German poem adapting earlier French material.
- Reviews describe the work as a fantastical but uneven hybrid, with dialogue and attitudes posing challenges for modern audiences.
Royal Albert Hall, LondonThere’s a new narration delivered by Tamsin Greig and the crack forces of the Monteverdi Choir, the ORR and world-class singers, all led by Mark Elder, but the 200-year-old piece remains a strange hybridPirates! Princesses! Mermaids! Fairies! A magic horn! You name it and Carl Maria von Weber chucked it at Oberon – his fantastical, nonsensical, often farcical romp of a final opera, which sees a French knight and his Arabian beloved subjected to magical trials and hardships so that fairy king Oberon can win an argument with queen Titania.You can see how it happened. The opera’s English libretto (the work was premiered at Covent Garden in 1826) is based on a German poem, itself adapting a French chivalric romance, is a patchwork whose lumpen dialogue (and, latterly, unpalatable attitudes) have rendered it all but unstageable in living memory. Enter Mark Elder, the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique and Monteverdi Choir to give Oberon a Proms premiere 200 years in the making. Continue reading...
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