Opera

Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau Libretto: Abbe Simon-Joseph Pellegrin Music and Stage Director: Marcio da Silva Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Being the mortal offspring, lover or interlocutor of a Greek God never turns out well and Prince Hippolyte is doubly damned – not only the grandson of Neptune with a famous father, but also a devotee of Diane to whom he pledged early ...

Musical Director and Translation: Lindsay Bramley Artistic Director: Benjamin Newhouse-Smith  Reviewer: Karl O'Doherty Considering the eponymous hero of our story, the Count himself, the main question is whether he is actually a cad, or a bounder. That an audience will like him almost immediately is beyond doubt, as is the issue of liking the whole of this glorious, silly, musically ...

Libretto: William Schwenk Gilbert Composer: Arthur Sullivan Director: Richard Gauntlett Musical Director: Andrew Nicklin Choreographer: Jackie O’Brien Reviewer: Ron Simpson The International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival follows up six days at Buxton Opera House with nearly two weeks at Harrogate’s Royal Hall, with a comprehensive fringe programme in Harrogate International Centre, one of the halls converted into a social centre ...

Libretto: William Schwenk Gilbert Composer: Arthur Sullivan Director: Andrew Nicklin Musical Director: Timothy Burke Reviewer: Ron Simpson The Yeomen of the Guard is an oddity in the Gilbert and Sullivan canon and, partly because of that, has enjoyed a fluctuating reputation, at times over-rated (perhaps by Sullivan himself), at others unreasonably neglected. Often thought of a G&S take on grand ...

Music and Libretto: Matt Geer Director: Katie Bunting Reviewer: Maryam Philpott The Grimeborn Opera Festival at the Arcola Theatre often proves a revelatory showcase for new writers and musicians, but it's hard to imagine a more personal composition than Matt Geer’s Sane and Sound, performing for only the second time. Based on Geer’s notebooks from a period of hospitalisation for ...

Music: Johann Strauss II, adapted by Leo Geyer Libretto: Joanna Turner Director: Joanna Turner Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Even the most ardent operagoer would admit that, while the genre has a reputation for productions’ long-running times, they aren’t exactly packed with plotting. Hence Baseless Fabric Theatre’s modern-day adaptation of Strauss’ comic operetta Die Fledermaus, playing for two nights as part of ...

Composer: Giuseppi Verdi  Director: Ashley Pearson Reviewer: Karl O'Doherty For an opera that seeks to examine the life of a single woman and the man who claims he loves her, La Traviata contains an awful lot of extra stuff - people, story, bombast. Violetta presents a gem of an idea - why not actually focus on Violetta for the duration, ...

Composer:  Giuseppe Verdi Text: Antonio Somma Director: Rachel Hewer Conductor: Sonia Ben-Santamaria Reviewer: Margarita Shivarova This three acts opera by Giuseppe Verdi, first performed in 1859, tells the intense story of a love triangle and the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden in the 18thcentury. The motives of human instinct, desire, friendship, treachery, dignity and revenge are passionately revealed amidst ...