The latest opera has been reviewed by The Arts Desk this week from a quirky festival on the Irish coast to a group of Guidhall students to the ENO.
There were reservations about the English National Opera's production of Tchaikovsky's grand opera 'Eugene Onegin'. Despite boasting four strong singers, the traditional staging was rather inept at communicating the truth of Pushkin's great verse novel. The dramatic action was hampered by the long pauses between scenes which the video and image team could not amply distract from.
'Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor' is Otto Nicolai's 19th century comic opera, which provided some good roles for student singers. The Guildhall School of Music and Drama demonstrated this in their current production. Clive Timms's conducting was cheery, Tom Rogers's costumes were fun and all the parts were well sung, so there were plenty of positives here.
The overture and the moonlight chorus were the highlights musically although there were some negatives. There was a distinct lack of laughter in the audience and director Harry Fehr's characterisation was baggy.
The Wexford Festival Opera's 60th anniversary season earned the praise of Alexandra Coghlan. Rather than dealing in classics you might expect to find at the royal opera, this celebrated festival concentrates on neglected, often unheard-of operas. It really is a jewel of a festival, housed in the unassuming but state-of-the-art Wexford Opera House, which delivers three full-scale opera a year.
With Ambroise Thomas's 'bel canto' piece 'La cour de Climne' coming across as a well-balanced confection with a pleasing feminist plot, marital love was the theme this year. Providing the most interesting but also the most inconsistent show was Roman Statkowski's family tragedy Maria. Despite its fragile plot, one of Donizetti's lesser-known operas, Gianni di Parigi, was given as much comic energy as possible.
There were reservations about the English National Opera's production of Tchaikovsky's grand opera 'Eugene Onegin'. Despite boasting four strong singers, the traditional staging was rather inept at communicating the truth of Pushkin's great verse novel. The dramatic action was hampered by the long pauses between scenes which the video and image team could not amply distract from.
'Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor' is Otto Nicolai's 19th century comic opera, which provided some good roles for student singers. The Guildhall School of Music and Drama demonstrated this in their current production. Clive Timms's conducting was cheery, Tom Rogers's costumes were fun and all the parts were well sung, so there were plenty of positives here.
The overture and the moonlight chorus were the highlights musically although there were some negatives. There was a distinct lack of laughter in the audience and director Harry Fehr's characterisation was baggy.
The Wexford Festival Opera's 60th anniversary season earned the praise of Alexandra Coghlan. Rather than dealing in classics you might expect to find at the royal opera, this celebrated festival concentrates on neglected, often unheard-of operas. It really is a jewel of a festival, housed in the unassuming but state-of-the-art Wexford Opera House, which delivers three full-scale opera a year.
With Ambroise Thomas's 'bel canto' piece 'La cour de Climne' coming across as a well-balanced confection with a pleasing feminist plot, marital love was the theme this year. Providing the most interesting but also the most inconsistent show was Roman Statkowski's family tragedy Maria. Despite its fragile plot, one of Donizetti's lesser-known operas, Gianni di Parigi, was given as much comic energy as possible.
About the Author:
Steve Alexander is a writer with a good knowledge of grand opera. For the latest royal opera reviews and much more, visit theartsdesk.com.
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