It is no compliment to the production to say that it should be seen in conjunction with the bonus film on Gluck the reformer. The performance should, of course, stand on its own, and maybe in the opera house it did. On the small screen it can be infuriating. At the start in comes William Christie and the sublime music begins, only for the viewer to be distracted by the slow entrance of two figures, gigantic mask-heads on small bodies, having at first a ludicrous effect, for one thinks, with a protesting sigh, ‘Oh, it’s going to be another of those!’, where ‘those’ means silly productions. The initial impression takes some living-down, and it is not helped by the stylised imitative gestures of Iphigénie’s chorus and the lining-up of other mask-heads as she sings.

In the film, the director, Claus Guth, says the staging should make everything clear. All I can say is that it is a great deal clearer after he has explained it. What the film helps us to appreciate is that these are probably thoughtful, conscientious people at work and not a lot of clever-dicks. I don’t believe the ideas and devices do work as intended but am much more willing to hope that perhaps in the theatre they did. Also it’s good to hear the singers speak with such understanding of their roles. And there is at least one moment when Christie, talking in some detail about the music, opens our ears with a piece of analysis and does more for ‘Gluck the reformer’ than all the talk about drama and historical background has.

Vocally, the production is dominated by Rodney Gilfry’s Oreste. Juliette Galstian is clean and efficient but in timbre hasn’t the character to sustain such a long and intense role. Deon van der Walt is similarly efficient, but not quite elegant enough in his vocal style. Anton Scharinger as Thoas sings with more power than resonance. The chorus do well, the orchestra superbly.