LSO/ Pappano: The Dream of Gerontius review – full-throttle rendering of Elgar’s operatic finest

Elgar’s greatest oratorio is that rare thing, a complex religious text that explores core tenets of the Roman Catholic faith and yet is set to music that sweeps away any sense of dusty philosophical debate in a blaze of transcendent beauty. As the composer’s most operatic score, Gerontius responds readily to a theatrical approach, which was one reason Antonio Pappano’s dramatically charged interpretation landed so powerfully.

Take the prelude. Seldom has the music’s Wagnerian ache and the sense of time running out felt so palpable. Elsewhere, he was unafraid to pull back, teasing out Elgar’s chamber-like textures with a gentle elasticity. Most rewardingly, his conductorly attention to the protracted expressive arc ensured that the work’s twin climaxes – the great chorus of Praise to the Holiest and the soul’s searing glimpse of the Deity – felt properly earned. This, he seemed to say, is where we have been heading all along.

David Butt Philip made an intrepid Gerontius, whispering in exquisite head voice one minute, hurling out heroic top notes the next. Occasionally a vowel or two came across as oddly coloured, but his primeval cry of “Take me away!” raised hairs on the back of the neck. Emily D’Angelo, who clearly had the role by heart, was a deeply moving Angel. Her polished mezzo was especially affecting in “Softly and gently,” though it was sometimes hard to catch every word. William Thomas made a striking impression as Priest and Angel of the Agony, his luxurious bass riding both orchestra and chorus.

The London Symphony Orchestra fired on all cylinders, finessing Pappano’s changes of mood or tempo, while the London Symphony Chorus, scrupulously prepared by Mariana Rosas, managed to ferret out novel details from inside familiar textures. Pinpoint diction and thoughtful phrasing pointed up lines that are often lost, whether portraying angels extolling their abiding love of God or as snarky demons kvetching about being “chucked down by the sheer might of a despot’s will”. The only frustration was a lack of ideal aural separation, the result of embedding the otherwise excellent semichorus within the main body of the choir on the constricting Barbican stage.