Bach: St John Passion (Concert Review - The Organ, 2002)

The revival of Deborah Warner’s English National Opera production of J S Bach’s St John Passion on 15 March was both timely and welcome, though I must admit – despite the work’s theatrical inclinations born out of its through-composed style – that I was wary of such a production’s ability to deliver its inherent gravity as well as carry off the intimacy and beauty of Bach’s intentions. How wrong I was!

Neil Jenkins’ revealing vernacular translation, relying strongly on the King James Authorised Version of the Bible, never compromised Bach’s religious inspiration. Indeed, helped by the clarity of line delivered throughout by both the ENO Chorus and the body of superb soloists, the impact of the English text brought the ‘arresting immediacy’ that Jenkins had hoped. The Community Chorus, trained in workshops by the ENO Baylis programme, sang the chorales with Lutheran boldness from the boxes on either side of the proscenium, where three posturing sculptured lions atop of each markedly reminded one of their Christian connections. The audience’s invitation to sing three chorales – hopefully adding the missing congregational ingredient and deepening the spiritual aspect of the whole – occasioned some polite humming around the auditorium. A nice thought, perhaps, but difficult to pull off.

Affecting filmed visions of Christ at various stages of his incarceration were projected on a vast backdrop that gave added poignancy to Bach’s score. Indeed, Warner’s minimalist staging understated the surroundings so that one’s sense of the drama was actually heightened. Under Stephen Layton’s masterly direction the Baroque band – displaced in the pit in ways that the instrumental soloists were heard both by the audience and singers – drew us into a basin of profundity where the two oboes’ opening incisive dissonances, swimming above the babbling string textures and the pummelling deep bass, never better described the achingly disturbing nature of the Passion.

The ENO Chorus, whose biting statements buttressed the architecture of the narrative, propelled the dramatic impetus. The contemporary dress of the cast gave a modern dimension and effectively underlined how an almost 300 year-old work can resonate in today’s sceptical climate. Mark Padmore’s noble and reassuring Evangelist was inspired. The clarity of his smooth vocal tone bore truth and meaning from the text. Paul Whelan presented a familiar and convincing image of Christ; his rich, rounded, yet open-throated, bass-baritone was moving in its delivery. Catherine Wyn-Rogers’ sturdy yet flexible alto found the right degree of dramatic edge to her arias in the theatrical arena, while Barry Banks’ virile tenor magnified the despondent character of his solos with properties that reminded one of the work’s oratorical roots. Gillian Keith’s pure, silken soprano together with James Richardson’s youthful but rich bass brought baroque elegance to their no-less-poignant moments. David Kempster’s commanding and assured vocal interpretation of Pilate’s deliberations was perceptively sewn into the story, but it was predictably the chorus that drew closure to the event strewing flowers around the stage as their final reflections, deeply etched with sorrowfulness, were touchingly sealed by the arrival of a live and well-behaved lamb.

The religious experience was never lost in this production and, indeed, I felt that the lucid presentation of its message could teach The Church, ever despairing at their dwindling congregations, a thing or two. This production triumphs on many levels, not least in emphasising the greatness of Johann Sebastian Bach.