Semele, Royal Opera House

Oliver Mears’ provocative production of Handel’s Semele at the Royal Opera House is a visually extravagant and tonally complex staging that blends satire, sensuality and brutality. It doesn’t shy away from the opera’s thorny gender politics, instead reframing the myth through a darkly modern lens that critiques the abuse of power with biting theatricality.

Annemarie Woods’ set is a triumph of imagination. The action unfolds in what appears to be a luxurious 1950s hotel—a dreamlike, vaguely sinister space complete with opulent art deco furnishings, cigarette haze, and ominous chimneys. Jupiter’s bedroom, all emerald sheets and Hitchcockian menace, contrasts sharply with the filth-strewn grotto of Somnus’ lair. The visual language shifts throughout, from the seductive glamour of Semele’s infatuation to the infernal horror of her destruction. Fabiana Piccioli’s lighting transforms this surreal world from glossy to grotesque in the blink of an eye.

Musically, the evening is anchored by South African soprano Pretty Yende in the title role. Her voice, with its silky agility and emotional shading, navigates Semele’s arc from wide-eyed ambition to devastated realisation with considerable elegance. Her “No, no, I’ll take no less” is a spine-tingling assertion of agency, while “Myself I shall adore” is executed with tongue-in-cheek charm, exposing the character’s naïveté.

Ben Bliss, making his Royal Opera debut, sings Jupiter with velvety control, particularly in the well-known aria “Where’er you walk,” here lent a haunting, almost sinister undertone. While Jupiter’s charisma is unquestionable, Bliss ensures his divine persona is laced with cruelty, a dangerous predator cloaked in celestial glamour.

The supporting cast adds both colour and complexity. Alice Coote’s Juno is deliciously vindictive, equal parts comedic villain and scorned goddess, while Brindley Sherratt’s double duty as Somnus and Cadmus provides much-needed gravitas and dry humour. Carlo Vistoli’s Athamas brings baroque flair with comic desperation, and Niamh O’Sullivan’s Ino adds a grounding emotional resonance.

Christian Curnyn conducts with poise, drawing a lively, textured performance from the orchestra, though there are moments where instrumental balance threatens to swamp the lighter voices. The chorus, too, varies in clarity, though their offstage moments often carry more impact than those onstage.

What impresses most is the production’s willingness to explore discomfort. From the unsettling image of urns labelled with Jupiter’s discarded lovers to the graphic depiction of Semele’s demise and Bacchus’s birth, Mears doesn’t flinch. While the tonal shift from farce to tragedy is occasionally abrupt, it adds to the unsettling effect.

This Semele is a sophisticated, sometimes uneven, but ultimately arresting production that dares to reinterpret Handel’s opera for the 21st century. It is not perfect, but it is unforgettable.

Photo credit: Royal Opera House