Verdi
Fun and frivolity at Garsington Opera for Verdi’s Giorno di Regno
**** Well, I never. A staging of a comedic opera that is actually funny. Purists may argue Verdi’s Un Giorno di Regno, owes more to Donizetti or Rossini but who cares? In this delightful new staging by Christopher Alden for Garsington Opera we are given a contemporary arms dealer’s office Kelbar Defence Ltd. rather than…
A weird and wonderful Macbeth, Grange Festival
Directed and choreographed by Maxine Braham, this production of Verdi’s Macbeth opened with one of the fantastical spirits poking her head through the curtains and giving the audience a “once-over”, which set the approach to this dark tale.The designs by Madeleine Boyd, lit by Matt Haskins, sets the Scottish Play in the world of books,…
Nevill Holt Opera’s 2021 outdoor season
Opera’s most famous unjustifiably fallen woman and justifiably fallen man will be the two August offerings from Nevill Holt Opera’s ambitious 2021 outdoor festival. Shadwell Opera’s Music Director Finnegan Downie Dear and Nevill Holt Opera’s Artistic Director Nicholas Chalmers will conduct performances of Verdi’s La traviata and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. La traviata will be directed…
Rigoletto, Welsh National Opera, Wales Millennium Centre
This production of Verdi’s Rigoletto is a winning return to form for WNO. The story of the jester Rigoletto’s attempted revenge on his master the Duke for the seduction of his daughter Gilda, the action is transposed to Washington DC in the sixties, evoked by the costumes and design, such as Gilda’s hairband and bobby…