Magdalena Kozena at The Sage

The Czech mezzo Magdalena Kozena generated considerable excitement two or three years ago. She had a very successful debut CD (lavished with praise by John Steane) and made a much lauded appearance at the Edinburgh Festival. She was also due to appear at The Sage at that time in a concert with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment but had to cancel due to ill-health. In the time that has passed since then the excitement has died down a lot and her recent Cenerentola at Covent Garden gathered only modest reviews. She returned to the Sage last night as Dido in Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas".

Purcell's opera is a slight piece, lasting less than an hour and with not enough musical 'meat' in it for my taste: there are too many ha-ha-ha choruses and only one proper aria. Kozena started very edgily and although she did improve this was not an impressive performance. The final 'remember me' of her lament ran out of breath and tone and ended with an ugly gulp. I think I made out one word in the whole evening. She was not helped by a ludicrous dress, covered in pleats and figure-hugging in all the most unflattering places.

Roderick Williams sang strongly as Aeneas and Sue Bickley was a forceful sorceress. No words could be discerned in the performances of Gillian Keith (Belinda) Elizabeth Cragg and Amy Carson (witches).

The Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Nicholas Kraemer, played well, if rather unrelentingly loudly, and there was excellent choral singing from the Sinfonia Chorus. Unfortunately they, and the soloists, were undermined by a totally ludicrous semi-staging by a woman unnamed in the programme. This had everyone in bare feet and the chorus constantly walking or dancing around the stage. Even Dido's lament was accompanied by yogic contortions from some ladies of the chorus. The sight of the rather mature men of the Sinfonia Chorus skipping up and down the stage holding hands was just laughable.

A poor Sage debut for Kozena. I hope she can do better with Mahler, Strauss and Poulenc songs on Wednesday...