A Night at the Opera

[kuligin]

It was much the same when I heard the Queen of Spades in Leeds , apart from Josephine Barstow and William Dazeley, this was really a pretty mediocre evening.

The Opera Britania review sums things up nicely, unlike Opera Magazine that mentions Lloys Roberts " generous ringing tones" ! I thought I was unlucky but clearly the squaking I heard in Leeds continued in London

And why in these cash strapped days are Opera North visiting London, the only city with plenty of Opera?

Albert Herring next at the RNCM

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

The acoustic is pretty dead, unfortunately. I was seated five or six rows from the front, so I don't know how well it carried to the back. A friend who sat upstairs said that although Dame JB could clearly be heard, even when singing pppp, others didn't carry.

Thanks again for another review, IGI. I'm very keen on this opera, and Onegin (pace

I am off to Malvern to see ETO's Xerxes on Thursday - I don't suppose you caught this when it was on in London?

I didn't see Xerxes, although it was very well received: http://www.opera-britannia.com/index...iews&Itemid=16

I did catch Flavio when it was a new ETO production in 2009 and was very impressed.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

And why in these cash strapped days are Opera North visiting London, the only city with plenty of Opera?

I think finances are the issue. They're clearly trying to find a niche at the Barbican and are giving a five week run to Carousel there next summer which should fill the coffers nicely. And if it helps fund new opera productions, why not?

[kuligin]

A good run of a musical in London is hardly the core objective of the Opera company which serves the North but anything that brings in the cash in I suppose , but that does not answer why they took Queen of Spades down, that must have cost far more than it brought in, and it was not really a production or performance to show off

[aeolium]

I very much enjoyed Xerxes at Malvern last night, one of two Handel operas that ETO are touring with this autumn. I couldn't particularly see the benefit of updating the action to WWII Britain, but the plot is pretty daft anyway and the main interest is in the interaction of the protagonists. Julia Riley was excellent in the title role, especially in the Act III aria where (s)he calls for the vengeance of the furies from the deepest abysses, and I thought there was the influence of Sarah Connolly in some of her acting mannerisms. Some of the stage directing and lighting was strange, but the singers coped very well, and the ETO period orchestra played excellently for their director Jonathan Peter Kenny.

The theatre was less than half full (compared with the nearly full attendance when I went to two of their Handel productions in 2009) - no doubt due to the recession. ETO are to be congratulated for the work they are doing in taking these productions round the country in such difficult times, rather than simply choosing popular operas, and also for the care that they put into their performances.

Here is a link to the ETO website: http://englishtouringopera.org.uk/productions/xerxes

[french frank]

The theatre was less than half full

That's a shame. I saw Xerxes about three years ago in Budapest in a totally dotty production where Xerxes made entrances in a sports car, a tank, a biplane, a hot air balloon and a ship (production must have cost a bomb, unlike the seats) and which was hugely enjoyed by the audience. It was Handel at his most entertaining.

I must remember to look out for Malvern productions - the journey up by train is charming too.

[Sorry IGI rather panned Tatyana - I know her cousin; we went to Don Giovanni together and were discussing the (then) forthcoming production of Onegin]

[aeolium]

You could go to Xerxes tonight, ff, or alternatively see The Fairy Queen (which was very well reviewed in the London performance) on Saturday - and if you go up early enough you could hear Bach Cantatas in the afternoon.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

[Sorry IGI rather panned Tatyana - I know her cousin; we went to Don Giovanni together and were discussing the (then) forthcoming production of Onegin]

My disappointment was partly because I had anticipated Amanda Echalaz's Tatyana keenly; her Liu and Tosca (both at ENO) were quite wonderful, but she didn't live up to expectations here, at least not on opening night.

[Flosshilde]

You could go to Xerxes tonight, ff, or alternatively see The Fairy Queen (which was very well reviewed in the London performance) on Saturday - and if you go up early enough you could hear Bach Cantatas in the afternoon.

I've checked to see if these productions were going to Perth next year for the Perth Festival, but unfortunately not - Eugene Onegin & Barber of Seville instead.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Last night saw a first revival at ENO for Catherine Malfitano's production of Tosca, which was remarkably good with stronger singing than first time round:

http://www.opera-britannia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=608:tosca-english-national-opera-26th-november-2011&catid=8:opera-reviews&Itemid=16

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Here's a link to my review of last night's Katya Kabanova from Welsh National Opera:

http://www.opera-britannia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=613:katya-kabanova-welsh-national-opera-30th-november-2011&catid=8:opera-reviews&Itemid=16

[Chris Newman]

Hi IGI,
I was there too at the Mayflower for Káťa Kabanová. From Row Q in the stalls the orchestra and singers under Gareth Jones were beautifully balanced; more so than upstairs at the London Coliseum last year where the orchestra came straight up at you (though Mark Wigglesworth was equally fine as conductor). Claustrophobia was a key element of the production. Funny, I too thought of Brief Encounter looking at the WNO boathouse station set, the narrow depth of which was a huge advantage to the singers as it projected the voices out into the auditorium. I felt they were able to put more energy into expression rather than belting out to be heard: as you say Amanda Roocroft's voice did not spread as it often can under the sort of pressure she used as Jenufa and Ellen Orford at the Coliseum. In any Christopher or David Alden ENO production a singer can often be 40 or 50 feet beyond the orchestra. Here she sounded much more involved as Káťa. I could not find a weak link in the cast. The Kabanicha was younger looking than usual but utterly cold; there was very little of the hypocritical naughtiness showing in her relationship with Dykoj as displayed by Sheila Rex, Susan Bickley or Felicity Palmer. Nor was Clive Bayley's Dykoj totally doolally like the really frightening Donald Adams version from Glyndebourne: Bayley was a bully, yes, but a snob with it. His portrayal was very different from that he gave at ENO last year, more repressed with occasional outbursts of cruelty. As you say, the three tenors were finely sung and keenly nuanced in their differences. I am glad the performances were dedicated to the memory of Sir Charles Mackerras who had so much to do with the early days of this production and with the promotion of Janáček' throughout the world.

[french frank]

Glad to see that there was a good house for it too - as there was also in Bristol.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Hi IGI,
From Row Q in the stalls the orchestra and singers under Gareth Jones were beautifully balanced; more so than upstairs at the London Coliseum last year where the orchestra came straight up at you (though Mark Wigglesworth was equally fine as conductor).

Ah, we were in the front row of the Dress Circle, which would explain the different balance I experienced, Chris. I wasn't too perturbed, as the orchestral playing was extremely fine - it was good to be able to see the timpanist in ferocious action!

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

For those intrigued by what Richard Jones was going to do with Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann at ENO...

http://www.opera-britannia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=643:the-tales-of-hoffmann-english-national-opera-10th-february-2012&catid=8:opera-reviews&Itemid=16