Madrid’s opera house has braved infections, a mutinous audience and hostile media to stay open during the pandemic, earning international praise for keeping the arts alive.
Some of Britain’s leading opera figures are joining its struggle as they prepare to premiere a production of Peter Grimes at the Teatro Real on April 19 after overcoming delays caused by the UK travel ban, relentless Covid-19 restrictions and Brexit red-tape.
The production of Benjamin Britten’s 1945 work, which is due to go to the Royal Opera House in March next year, is arguably the Real’s most ambitious project since reopening last June.
The co-production between the Covent Garden house, the Opéra National de Paris and Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera, features a 62-strong chorus, who will have to sing wearing masks, a 75-piece orchestra and 20 supporting actors.
“One could say it’s insane to be putting on Peter Grimes in the middle of a pandemic,” Deborah Warner, the stage director, said. “It is a large-scale opera and its chorus, actors and soloists mainly move together as a pack. I don’t think there could be a more testing work.
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“There is bravery about the theatre doing this. The protocols in the theatre are rigorous. But it’s not entirely safe. It can’t be. Making opera is a close-contact sport.”
Political will to keep the arts open along with close monitoring by health officials has enabled the Real’s long pandemic run. Safety protocols have cost the theatre €1 million so far and forced performers to have up to three coronavirus tests each week.
They must wear masks at all times, maintain a 2m distance from each other except when rehearsing and sit at separate, distanced tables in the canteen. On entering the theatre, like members of the audience, they must step on a disinfectant mat and pass temperature tests.
“The decision to keep culture open has been a very strong statement from the Madrid region and the central government,” Joan Matabosch, the theatre’s artistic director, said. He added, however: “The theatre is prey to constant changes in government restrictions that require agile responses to keep shows open.”
The theatre management may sympathise with the parable of Peter Grimes in which an outsider, a fisherman, is hounded to suicide by his community after the mysterious death of two of his apprentices. Britten described the work as “the struggle of the individual against the masses”.
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Its bold policy has made it a target for criticism. The opera house had to cancel a performance of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera in September when it was interrupted by protests about perceived inadequate social distancing in the cheaper seats. Some media reports claimed this week that the theatre had suffered a Covid outbreak, which it strenuously denied.
Warner said that the battle to continue with the show had been tough. “We’ve had illness and that’s very hard,” she said. “Now all are healthy and back but of all the challenges that’s the biggest. I’ve never built an opera with as much absenteeism and I’ve never built an opera where I never knew who I was going to have next or not.”
The Britons are relishing the opportunity to work. “I can’t imagine this in the UK at the moment,” Allan Clayton, the title role tenor, said. “I haven’t posted things on social media about it as I know many colleagues are struggling and I don’t want to ram it down their throats that I’m in a room full of people making music again. We are so privileged to be in this position.”
Extra efforts were also required because the production involved so many Britons who need work visas because of Brexit.
“It was a massive hassle as a system is not yet in place,” Clayton said. “My visa cost me the best part of £400. I had to provide three months of certified bank statements, evidence of travel insurance for the three-month duration of the show, proof that I paid taxes last year, letters from accountants as well as visits to the consulate.”
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The management also had to fight hard to overcome recent travel restrictions. “Getting people out of Britain was a nightmare,” Ivor Bolton, the conductor, said. “We lost about two weeks on that hence we had to delay the premiere. But we managed to get them all here due to the Stakhanovite efforts of the Teatro Real.”
After its Madrid run, which starts next Monday, the production is to transfer to London’s Royal Opera House in March next year.