I am not a morning person. I am, however, a card-carrying member of the Peter Coleman-Wright fan club, which is how it came to pass that on my last full day on London — with a late night of Wagner and of post-Wagner revels ahead of me — I dragged myself out of bed several hours ahead of schedule in order to be at the final dress rehearsal of the English National Opera’s production of Detlev Glanert’s opera Caligula. But anyway, who was I to complain? I only had to sit back and listen; the cast had to sing a seriously demanding opera at 10am — and sing it they most certainly did.

The opera, which premiered in 2006, is based on a play by Albert Camus. It’s a disturbing trip into the mind of a burgeoning tyrant: Caligula, stricken with grief at the death of his sister (and lover…but somehow their incest is far less picturesque than Siegmund and Sieglinde) Drusilla, turns into, well, the Caligula we all know and love to detest. Raping, pillaging, murdering and so on, all the while haunted by his sister and his own continuing struggle with the notions of freedom and of happiness. “All men die and are not happy” he says, and sets about destroying everybody around him — and himself along with them — in ever more perverse fashion.

Just as he did as Harry Joy in Brett Dean’s Bliss — another man transformed by trauma into a stranger in his own life — Peter Coleman-Wright pulls off a tour de force as the terrifying (and terrifyingly charismatic) dictator, his despotic antics peppered with just enough humanity to throw an observer off balance. And just like Harry, Caligula is one heck of a role: almost never off stage and almost never not singing. Glanert’s vocal writing isn’t quite as extreme as Dean’s, but it’s still a mighty challenge, particularly when the orchestra is at its blaringest. The role also makes a host of dramatic demands, from the comic to the tragic, the sublime to the ridiculous to the just plain disturbing. Peter is master of them all. And I’m here to tell you, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen one of Australia’s finest singers strut his stuff in a gold lamé dress and a long blonde wig. Singing up a storm all the while, I might add!

You’d be forgiven for mistaking this Caligula for an Opera Australia co-production. (Maybe it should be!) Not only is Peter Coleman-Wright headlining it, but take a look at the production team: Benedict Andrews (director), Ralph Myers (set design) and Alice Babidge (costume design). Sound familiar? Yes, it’s the same team from OA’s recent Figaro. Myers was also responsible for the sets for Peter Grimes and Così fan tutte, and Babidge was the woman behind all those fabulous 1980s outfits in Bliss. Along with lighting designer Jon Clark and choreographer Denni Sayers, they put on a fairly spectacular show, glitzy yet grotesque. Myers’s set — a massive row of yellow football bleachers — is well utilised, and silver confetti (which I understand is a bit of an Andrews trademark) is liberally distributed.

That said, the rest of the excellent cast was English, as was the conductor, Ryan Wigglesworth, who believe it or not is apparently not related to Mark. Particular highlights for me were Yvonne Howard’s resplendent Caesonia, whose smiling detachment from her husband’s behaviour was almost more disturbing than the evil acts themselves, and Carolyn Dobbin, whose silken mezzo was a delight as the Sesto-like Scipio. Countertenor Christopher Ainslie was another highlight as the devoted Helicon. Special mention also to Zoe Hunn, who does sterling service in the silent, dancing role of Drusilla, and of course to the always fabulous ENO orchestra and chorus.

Murder, existentialism and modern music at 10am isn’t the easiest sell, but the large-ish dress rehearsal audience seemed to respond enthusiastically, and I hope that audiences throughout the run will do likewise. It’s the kind of opera which can’t help but divide opinion — the same is true of Andrews’s staging — but the score, while sometimes confronting, is very interesting (I liked it a lot) and the level of talent involved is hard to ignore. Here’s to a successful season – and congratulations to Peter Coleman-Wright for once again doing Australia proud on the international stage.

To finish up, here‘s a trailer from the ENO, complete with audience responses and some choice footage from the show. Enjoy.

Caligula runs at the London Coliseum until June 14. View event details here.