Acis and Galatea is OHP’s first Handel opera. What would you say to people who have never seen a Handel opera before?

In every great opera, the music plays an enormous role in the story telling. Not only was Handel a master at writing for the voice (the music in the piece is among the finest and most lyrical he ever wrote), he was also a man of the theatre and knew how to write music that, above all, served the drama. In that sense, he is no different to Mozart, Verdi, or Puccini. All great masters at telling stories through music, albeit working within the different musical parameters of their respective times.

It’s been described as a masque and a serenata as well as a little opera. Do these labels matter?

I don’t think so; these terms mean more to historians than they do to us! As far as a ‘little opera’ goes, it’s certainly much shorter than the majority of Handel’s operas; however, it’s also only about ten minutes shorter than Salome so it’s not entirely ‘little’!

Can you tell us about any interesting instrumentation that will be used in this production?

The instrumentation is fairly standard: strings, oboes and bassoon. He also uses recorders, which provide a lovely, bright colour. We will of course have a harpsichord and theorbo playing in the recitatives as well as throughout the piece. They’ll largely improvise their music, adding whatever colour, sonority and effects they deem appropriate at any given time.

How would you describe your conducting style?

‘Conducting style’ as a concept can be fairly nebulous at the best of times! I feel that with opera, my main goal is to support the stage.This means drawing as much dramatic juice from the music as possible and also allowing the singers the space and flexibility to emote and really communicate. 

Acis and Galatea are characters from Greek mythology; do you believe that this influences either the music or the way it is performed?

Composers sometimes allude to the cultures in which their operas take place (Bizet’s Carmen, for example), but with Handel it’s very much his own musical language. It was simply commonplace in opera’s early days for the subject matters to have been taken from Greek or Roman mythology.

You were the Young Artists répétiteur in 2018. How do you build and develop a good relationship between a conductor and the répétiteur? 

This is an interesting question. I think the key is that both are equally important collaborators within the operatic ecosystem. The best productions I’ve been involved with over the years have been the ones where the répétiteurs have felt empowered to be an active part of the creative process, be it working individually with singers outside of rehearsals or offering thoughts and advice in the room.

Acis and Galatea was performed in 1718 in the gardens of Cannons House in Middlesex, possibly under cover in a pavilion. This summer, over 300 years later, it will be performed outside in Holland Park. What do you think is special about this kind of outdoor performance and what are the challenges that come with it?

I think the Holland Park auditorium is the perfect venue for Acis and Galatea, especially with its similarities to the original setting. Performing in such a setting is even more special when you consider how strongly the theme of nature runs throughout the piece. We hear pastoral choruses, the chirping of birds, and the gentle, rippling currents of a stream. The orchestra is quite small compared to the other productions throughout the season so the challenge for us will be to really fill the space with this incredible music. 

What is one piece of advice, musical or otherwise, that you’ve been given that has stayed with you?

I’ve been lucky to have received some wonderful advice over the years so it’s difficult to single one thing out. For me the most important general piece of wisdom is that ‘music’ and ‘drama’ don’t just co-exist within opera; they are the same thing. Whenever there is a musical issue, the solution almost always comes from the stage; likewise, whenever there is a lack of clarity dramatically, the answer so often lies in the music.