Has any one else seen the ETO Siege of Calais? I caught it at Buxton on Saturday.
The production moves us from Calais 1346 to Stalingrad 1943, without much benefit, indeed the surtitle translation remove many references to the the historical context, so when Edward 111 's captain says the King is also King of France and the burghers are his subjects that never appears. Act 3 which was mainly a ballet and a happy ending was cut, probably very sensibly, but it does leave the Opera a bit of a torso
However the singing and music were first rate by far the best I have heard from this source and Helen Sherman in the trouser role of Aurelio was exceptional.
If you have an inbterest in bel canto or just opera I strongly recommend seeing it, there area couple of venues still to go, Cheltenham next. This company have toured from London to Perth and end up giving a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra in Truro!
The production moves us from Calais 1346 to Stalingrad 1943, without much benefit, indeed the surtitle translation remove many references to the the historical context, so when Edward 111 's captain says the King is also King of France and the burghers are his subjects that never appears. Act 3 which was mainly a ballet and a happy ending was cut, probably very sensibly, but it does leave the Opera a bit of a torso
However the singing and music were first rate by far the best I have heard from this source and Helen Sherman in the trouser role of Aurelio was exceptional.
If you have an inbterest in bel canto or just opera I strongly recommend seeing it, there area couple of venues still to go, Cheltenham next. This company have toured from London to Perth and end up giving a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra in Truro!
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