Opera

Writers: John Kirkpatrick and Neil Gore Director: Louise Townsend Reviewer: Claire Hayes Today’s gig economy may feel like a modern invention, but it shares its heritage with the piece-workers of the early 20th Century, toiling away beneath the breadline with none of the rights bestowed on regularised employees. Townsend Theatre’s latest production brings this connection into sharp relief, by focusing ...

Writer: W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan Director: John Savournin Reviewer: Karl O'Doherty There’s a bounce and bit of mischief running through this colourful production that makes it impossible not to love. From Buttercup’s sweet sassiness to the jolly-sailor patter of the crew, it’s all just hugely entertaining - highlighting the ridiculousness of the situation even more than other productions that ...

Music: W. A. Mozart Libretto: Emanuel Schikaneder (t: Jeremy Sams) Conductor: Damian Iorio Reviewer: Ivana Galapcheva It may have been played consistently for over 200 years, but very few times in its history has Mozart’s The Magic Flute seen its hero, Tamino, start proceedings by battling a giant lobster. Bristol’s Hippodrome provided the setting for Thursday’s performance, offering an intimate ...

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Text: Giambattista Varesco Conductor: Jonathan Peter Kenny Director: James Conway Designer: Frankie Bradshaw Reviewer: Ron Simpson Of the operas of Mozart’s maturity those in the opera seria style lack the popularity of the comedies and fantasies, so Idomeneo, though in no way a rarity, is far less familiar than, for instance, The Marriage of Figaro or ...

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi Text: Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei, after Shakespeare Conductor: Gerry Cornelius Director: James Dacre Designer: Frankie Bradshaw Reviewer: Ron Simpson English Touring Opera has, in recent years, built a formidable reputation for the quality of its productions of baroque opera, but the company’s Spring 2019 tour offers operas by Verdi, Mozart and (though not in York) ...

Book: Giambattista Varesco Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Director: James Conway Conductor: Jonathan Peter Kenny Reviewer: Jamie Gaskin English Touring Opera bring us a tale of great love and passion – but not one for the squeamish. Idomemeodeals with the human frailties of betrayal, self-interest and abuse of Royal position. It looks at the aftermath of war, captivity, displacement, exile, perilous ...

Libretto: W.S. Gilbert Music: Arthur Sullivan Artistic Director: Alan Borthwick Musical Director: David Lyle Reviewer: Edie Ranvier When you think about it, it’s funny that The Mikado has lasted like it has. Why should droves of punters still turn out to watch musical satire that was topical in the late nineteenth century? And given that they do, why should the ...

Music: Igor Stravinsky / Giacomo Puccini Choreographer / Director: Jeanguy Saintus / Christopher Alden Conductor: Garry Walker Reviewer: Jo Beggs What sells the tickets for this double bill is probably Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, which famously caused ‘terrific uproar” (and not in a good way) at its 1913 premiere in Paris. The music is now so familiar to us that ...