Author: Mike Smith
Charming and clever La Sonnambula, Buxton International Festival
20th July 2023***** Ellie Neate and cast of La Sonnambula As a newcomer to Buxton this was a joyful introduction to the International Festival and also the jewel of an opera house both of which demonstrated why this annual event has such a dedicated following and excellent reputation. Harry Fehr’s production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula is here […]
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Artistic Director & CEO Guy Withers talks about Waterperry Opera Festival 2023
15th July 2023Waterperry Opera Festival, based at the stunning Waterperry House & Gardens in Oxfordshire, is soon approaching its sixth festival as a company. When we founded the company, with a short 3-day festival in 2018, we would never have imagined the scale to which we have grown. In 5 festivals we have produced 26 new productions […]
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Dorset Opera Festival stages rarely performed Massenet jewel, Le Roi de Lahore
14th July 2023Dorset Opera Festival is presenting Massenet’s Le Roi de Lahore which the company says has not been staged in the UK since 1879. Dorset Opera Festival Artist Director Roderick Kennedy said, “I am incredibly proud to be bringing this rare and captivating opera Le Roi de Lahore to Dorset and to the UK. Reviving a […]
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Updated frivolity for L’Orfeo, Longborough Festival Opera
13th July 2023*** The staging of Longborough Festival Opera’s contrasts the playing of Monteverdi’s 1607 score by the Venetian Baroque period musicians of La Serenissima with a show that takes its theme from Glastonbury-style festivals and modern hospitals. So, in Olivia Fuchs production our Orfeo swaps his lyre for an electric guitar (fortunately it makes no sound) […]
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The Flying Dutchman, but not as you know it, OperaUpClose, Bristol
6th July 2023*** The cult quote: “It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it”, may never have really featured in Star Trek. But “It’s Wagner, folks, but not as you know it” would certainly apply to Lucy Bradley’s reworking of The Flying Dutchman for OperaUpClose. Here performed at the probably too small Exhibition Hall, SS Great […]
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The Flying Dutchman – OperaUpClose
4th July 2023OperaUpClose and Manchester Camerata present The Flying Dutchman From the SS Great Britain in Bristol to a former turbine factory in Liverpool, a radically re-imagined Wagner masterpiece tours to waterside venues Words by Glyn Maxwell | Orchestration by Laura Bowler in association with Robin Wallington | Directed by Lucy Bradley Touring, Wednesday 28 June – […]
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Queen of Spades wins hands down, Grange Festival
30th June 2023Clear, unfussy direction, a versatile and attractive set, rich orchestral playing, and singers thrilling in their artistry and authenticity – this was the pleasure of Grange Festival’s Queen of Spades. At first it jars a little, having lots of patriotic Mother Russia sentiment expressed on stage at such a time of imperial warfare against Ukraine, […]
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A charming and clever double bill of Gluck and Purcell at Grange Festival
29th June 2023This intelligent and extremely entertaining double bill of Gluck and Purcell at Grange Festival has three stars: the cast, the orchestra, and Robert Innes Hopkins. Why Hopkins? Because the set is pivotal to not only both dramas but enables this special opera festival to present two works with minimal production changes. Alexandra Oomens and Heather […]
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Dastardly dealings for Il Trovatore, Royal Opera
29th June 2023*** This intriguing Adele Thomas direction of Verdi’s Il Trovatore has at its core the horrific damage done to the so-called witch Azucena and her quest to fulfil her mother’s demand at the stake for vengeance. Our eyes may be drawn to the quasi-Medieval teeth snarling stylised mask that opens and closes like the jaws […]
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Mitridate, re di Pontus, earns his (zebra) stripes, Garsington Opera
26th June 2023***** Sometimes it is a bore being an opera-loving academic classicist. On one hand it can be very helpful knowing the classical and mythological tales that so many operas are based on. On the other, however, directors and their designers can really get your purist heckles up. However, when this Mitridate, Re di Ponto opens […]
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