Montezuma

In this production of Carl Heinrich Graun’s 1755 court opera, director Claudio Valdes Karl opts for a surreal but decidedly unsuccessful approach which sees the cast in period costume juxtaposed with the introduction of Mexican wrestlers and modern props such as Coke bottles, souvenir T-shirts and sombreros that only serve to illustrate an articulated daftness.

The singing is perfectly adequate, competent without ever being inspiring, and Concerto Lyma does decent work with Graun’s complex music, but the musical aspect of this opera is utterly forgettable, with no rousing melodies or discernible themes to capture the imagination.

It is quite a feat for a show to be so fantastically preposterous and yet utterly unmemorable, but Montezuma does exactly that, turning its two and a half hour duration into what seems like an eternity.