Opera

Words and Music: Jules Maxwell Director: Ben Wright Reviewer: Maryam Philpott The high art forms of dance and opera feel like the last to embrace the inclusion of disabled artists into their regular programming and The Lost Thing, a co-production between the Royal Opera House and Candoco Dance Company, is an attempt to redress the balance with an adaptation of ...

Opera: Giuseppe Verdi Libretto: Francesco Maria Piave Director: Christiane Lutz Reviewer: Lu Greer Verdi’s own favourite opera, brought to Norwich by Glyndebourne, tells the story of the duplicitous Duke who has money, power, and any woman he turns his gaze on, and his hunchbacked jester Rigoletto who happens to have a beautiful and unattainable daughter. The opera follows the jester ...

Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Sian Edwards Soloists: Christopher Purves & Karen Cargill Reviewer: Ron Simpson This was a perfectly balanced programme, two ground-breaking masterpieces from the early part of the 20th century by Central European composers, both almost unclassifiable, but 100 years on supremely accessible, both requiring huge brass forces and using them to stunning effect. Leos Janacek’s ...

Composer: Gaetano Donizetti Libretto: Robin Norton-Hale (after Bardari) Musical Director: Paul McKenzie Director: Robin Norton-Hale Designer: Kate Lane Reviewer: Ron Simpson OperaUpClose, celebrating its 10th anniversary, began by staging La Boheme in a 60-seat venue above a pub. The company also uses non-theatrical spaces, in the case of the tour of Mary Queen of Scots many of them historic buildings. ...

Music: Giacomo Puccini Libretto: Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa Revival Direction: Jonathan Cocker Conductor: Stuart Stratford Reviewer: Dominic Corr Puccini’s melodramatic masterpiece Tosca has it all; corruption, lust, heartbreak and the bureaucracy of history. Shifting the timeframe into the 20th century, there is still a stringent root to Puccini’s origins in 1900. Practically flawless in execution, Tosca moves beyond a ...

Composer and Librettist: Bohuslav Martinu Director: Christopher Alden Designer: Charles Edwards Reviewer: Dave Cunningham The Greek Passion is not a conventional opera. For one thing, the narration and a few key speeches are spoken not sung. This is, however, typical for a production where director Christopher Alden sets out to leave the audience feeling uncomfortable at having their preconceptions challenged. ...

Music: Stephen Hyde and W.A. Mozart Lyrics: Leo Mercer Writers: Stephen Hyde and Leo Mercer Director: Franciska Ery Reviewer: Sam Lowe Who would have thought Mozart would suit eyeliner? Yes, tonight is The Marriage of Kim K. Musical meets Googlebox meets Opera in a story following three couples in the past, present and various places. It’s fun, fabulous, barmy, and ...

Music: George Frideric Handel Director: Tim Albery Conductor: Christian Curnyn Reviewer: Jo Beggs Broken and weary from a long civil war, and having followed his rival Pompey to Egypt, Julius Caesar is about to find out that his troubles are far from over. For a start, Egypt is ruled by the odious sex-pest Ptolemy and his ruthless sister Cleopatra, both ...