Month: July 2022
Mid Wales Opera announces Fairy Tale season
Mid Wales Opera are inviting audiences to join them in a Fairy Tale world of magic and myth with their new season launched at Gregynog Hall on Sunday. Launching their Fairy Tales season at the annual Friends of MWO Gala, Executive Director Lydia Bassett said, “Lots of people are struggling at the moment, and there’s…
A mesmerising Rusalka at Garsington Opera
Natalya Romaniw’s performance in Garsington Opera’s first production of Rusalka was delayed by Covid for two years. Then mid-run the Swansea-born soprano tested positive and Elin Pritchard jumped in and by all accounts gave the audience a much-enjoyed performance. By the start of July, Covid-free, the singer returned to the stage, and it was this…
One heck of a trip, Janáček’s The Excursions of Mr Brouček
Never shy from letting his imagination run riot on the opera stage, David Pountney and his design team have created a zany and witty production with plenty of contemporary references. It is a pity the Dominic Raab and Angela Rayner snob opera spat (wink and all) had not happened while the show was being put…
A sublime Otello at Grange Park Opera
The dark side dominates in David Alden’s sombre Otello for Grange Park Opera. While the tragedy is Otello and Desdemona, the focus of this production is not only how Iago brings about the fatal suspicion, but sadistically enjoys watching the pain he brings about. Yes, with his seductive and glowing baritone Simon Keenlyside excelled as…
Welsh National Opera’s innovative Migrations project
June is barely over, and already this is proving to be a very interesting Summer for new operas. This is especially exciting given the existing rhetoric around the idea that opera is an old and dusty artform, incapable of representing the contemporary world, and so it is a special delight to see an increasingly broad…