A new meta-opera arrives at the ROH

The Virtues of Things is a chamber opera by the sometime computer game music composer Matt Rogers, and his debut at the Royal Opera House. It is performed by the Aurora Orchestra, conducted by Richard Baker, and directed by Bijan Sheibani with a cast including last year’s Figaro at the ENO, David Stout, and the veteran mezzo-soprano, Fiona Kimm.

Kimm and Stout play Ellipsis and (the arrestingly-named) Selby de Selby, the older generation of a family of opera prop-makers, who pride themselves on their traditional values and methods. Their niece, Peg – played by Robyn Allegra Parton – is both the operatic trope of a bored young daughter, ripe for the saving by a dashing young nobleman/soldier/penniless student, and the first salvo of the coming barrage of meta-commentary on the relevance of opera in the modern age. Into this bastion of self-righteousness arrives a trendy young designer/coder/penniless hipster, Eames, played by the rather excellent tenor, Paul Curievici. Hilarity ensues as Eames’ offer to ‘upskill’ the de Selby’s toolbox by “throwing some blue sky” at the problem is met with Ellipsis’ icy “We are prop- makers, sir; we do not peddle mere insinuations.” And so on, in a rather wordy recitative that leaves the audience glued to the surtitles for fear of missing an overwrought pun or cleverer-than-thou reference, and thus failing to laugh at the right moment.

That is sadly the high water mark and the rest of the libretto is a straight-faced stagger towards the final scene.

Nevertheless, there are enough giggles to be had from the sending up of startup and self-help doublespeak to keep you following along, and enough of a snook cocked at the ridiculousness of operatic logic and High Art for you to flatter yourself that you’re in on the joke. Soon though, the librettist, Sally O’Reilly, remembers that this is High Art after all, and that in High Art it’s not good enough to snigger at Very Serious People of both the Middle Aged and the Millennial variety, but it’s important to make some Very Serious Points yourself. In this case, it’s in the form of some Alain de Botton-level semiotics and an earnest discussion of the essence (virtues?) of things. Luckily, this is defused by Eames’ declaration that the most significant woman in his life is his “life coach – God rest her soul.”

That, unfortunately, is the high water mark, and the rest of the libretto is a straight-faced but pantomimic (it’s behind you!) stagger towards a final scene involving the de Selbys’ death-by-meaning overload. This happens in a set of their own making, containing both the universe and “the world of the atom”, which serves mainly as a set-piece for the lighting designer, Matt Haskins. As the story becomes less funny, the shortcomings of the orchestration – either nondescript background music, or intrusive and slightly out of whack with the story – start to assert themselves. High points remain, mainly through Ellipsis’ descent into madness (whose operatic logic I won’t attempt to explain here), as she takes over the dramatic mantle from the early Peg-Eames interplay, but not enough to overcome the distinct impression – not quite dispelled by Selby’s closing almost-aria – that this was less an opera than a play with music.

Rogers’ score certainly is promising and all of the cast is impressive, especially given what is asked of them.

The Virtues of Things is the second of three annual showcases of the alumni of various Aldeburgh Music development programs, in conjunction with Opera North and the Royal Opera. Last year’s offering – two, short, debut acts from novice composers – received (that old chestnut) mixed reviews; the writing and score were criticised for their complexity and ambition, while the cast and orchestra were praised for making the most of what they had to work with. This year, according to the programme, the focus has shifted to ‘rising stars’, with only O’Reilly really being new to opera. The various directors of Aldeburgh Music, the Royal Opera, and Opera North thus claim that The Virtues of Things should not be seen as ‘artist training’, but as “an opportunity to engage audiences in the most innovative and highest quality composition”. This is a shame, as it comes off a lot better in the former light than the latter: Rogers’ score is certainly promising – innovative, though not gratuitously so – and the performances of all of the cast, particularly Curievici, are impressive, especially given what’s asked of them. This sounds an awful lot like last year’s verdict – entertaining in parts, disappointing in others, but a damned good show for the first time around.

_The Virtues of Things ran in the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House. It will now be performed at Aldeburgh and Leeds. _