Your guide to classical music online

Roger Rules in Covent Garden Video

Robert Levine

Artistic Quality:

Sound Quality:

King Roger of Sicily is at Mass when word of a man who has been preaching around the countryside arrives. The “heretic”, who calls himself Shepherd, is brought in, and though the Archbishop wants him punished, Queen Roxana is attracted to his preaching, which emphasizes pleasure, and the King, after vacillating, sets the man free with the request that he return that night for a private meeting.

That evening the King anxiously awaits the Shepherd, confiding in his advisor, Edrisi; Roxana sings a sultry song, adding to Roger’s confusion. Edrisi suggests that Roger might consider lusting after his wife, which apparently has been on hold for a while. The Shepherd arrives, preaching freedom and pleasure and begins an orgiastic dance, which everyone follows, including Roxana. All leave, including eventually, Roger.

The Shepherd takes over and Roxana urges her husband to give in and rid himself of jealousy and unease. Another wild dance follows and the Shepherd reveals himself as Dionysus and demands that the people follow him without question. Roger resists but pays close attention; he is left alone at the end and sings a hymn to the sun. He is transformed.

If one does not read this libretto as Freudian (it was composed in the 1920s, during Freud’s “reign”), it makes even less dramatic sense than if one does, since the characters’ motivations are never made clear. Chastity and devotional religiosity vs. the pleasures of the flesh, civilization vs. the natural world, and presumably, the King’s sexual repression vs. an awakening of a balance between his passions and spirituality are the themes. There is also the issue of Roger’s physical and emotional attraction to the Shepherd and to men in general, and all of this is crammed into 81 minutes of opera.

This ravishing production from Covent Garden, recorded in May, 2015, certainly takes its cues from Freud. Kasper Holten, who gave the world a splendid Ring Cycle in Copenhagen a few years ago that was seen from Brünnhilde’s/a feminist vantage point, working on sets by Steffen Aarfing, makes it almost too literally clear.

The set presents first a giant head, taking up almost the whole of center stage, and representing, we realize, the power and ego of King Roger (we are reminded of those giant Soviet busts of Stalin and Lenin, although this one is non-specific). After the Shepherd takes hold of the people’s desires, in the second act (the three-act opera is performed without a break) we see what is in the giant head: A spiral staircase connects the top, which is elegantly filled with books; the lower level is full of writhing, semi-naked bodies–Roger’s conscious and creeping unconscious. In the last act, the head is shattered (not necessarily a bad thing) as the King welcomes the sun, standing for his realization that there is more than cold power and that one must salute every aspect of one’s nature.

The score is a stunner, alternately sensual and sumptuous, with dissonant eruptions. It can sometimes overwhelm with its exotic, anointed quality, which makes it seem obvious, but it is certainly one of a kind. It requires, of course, a cast willing to learn Polish, and for that alone we should praise this production–it sometimes sounds as if it has no vowels. I suspect it would not have come to be were it not for Polish-born Mariusz Kwiecien, a remarkable singing actor in foreign languages and now even more remarkable in the comfort of his own. Roger is a veritable garden of uncertainties and hungers, and Kwiecien’s acting and singing give us each doubt, each fear, each unresolved bit of passion. His voice is in wonderful shape as well–a highly placed, bright baritone.

And the role of the Shepherd is one-of-a-kind as well. Initially appearing Savior-like and eventually savior-like in a corrupt, hedonistic manner, tenor Saimir Pirgu sings mellifluously and seductively. The production uses modern-dress and it’s fine most of the time, but Pirgu is dressed all too ordinarily. A flowing red-pink robe at the start does not make up for the three-piece suit that follows: rather than seeming “other” and alluring, he looks as if he’s off to a meeting at Deutsche Bank.

Georgia Jarman’s Roxana, extravagantly acted, with a sexual push-pull that is almost alarming, is sung with style and precision. Kim Begley, as Edrisi, advises the King with strong tone. The others in the cast are thoroughly involved and meet every expectation. The Covent Garden chorus, with some of the most gorgeous hymn-like music as well as frenzied outbursts, is startling in its accuracy and passion. Holding it all together is conductor Antonio Pappano, who leads the post-Romantic score with what actually seems like love.

There is another version of this opera on DVD from the Bregenz festival. I have not seen it but the picture on the cover, with the Shepherd in gold lamé, does not bode well. In addition, the sound and picture on this newer DVD, as well as direction for the small screen, are perfect. There are subtitles in English, French, German, Japanese, and Korean and bonus features including explanations by Pappano and Holten–as well as a blow-by-blow documentary. King Roger is not an oddity or a rarity–it’s a major part of the operatic canon and this is an ideal way to get to know it.


Recording Details:

Reference Recording: This one

    Soloists: Mariusz Kwiecien, Alan Ewing (baritone); Saimir Pirgu, Kim Begley (tenor); Georgia Jarman (soprano)

    Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Antonio Pappano

Search Music Reviews

Search Sponsor

  • Insider Reviews only
  • Click here for Search Tips

Visit Our Merchandise Store

Visit Store
  • Ideally Cast Met Revival of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
    Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NY; March 19, 2024—The Met has revived Bartlett Sher’s 1967 production of Gounod’s R&J hot on the heels of its
  • An Ozawa Story, November, 1969
    Much has justifiably been written regarding Seiji Ozawa’s extraordinary abilities and achievements as a conductor, and similarly about his generosity, graciousness, and sense of humor
  • Arvo Pärt’s Passio At St. John The Divine
    Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, NY; January 26, 2024—When one thinks of musical settings of Christ’s Passion, one normally thinks of the