Opera North Archives - Page 2 of 4

16Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Falstaff – The Lowry

The rainbow-striped curtain rises on Opera North’s sustainable take on Verdi’s final masterpiece, a comic opera drawn from Shakespeare in director Olivia Fuchs’ re-imagined riotous and rampant romp that serves up satire, slapstick, and stags along the way. Roguish knight Falstaff (Henry Waddington) is down on his luck, residing in the car park of the Garter Inn and reliant upon its Host (Gordon D. Shaw) to keep him in good spirits of any kind! When he informs Bardolph (Colin Judson) and Pistol (Dean Robinson) that he intends to seduce Alice Ford (Kate Royal) and Meg Page (Helen Évora) they refuse to deliver his letters, so he throws them out, turning to his assistant Robin (Robert Gardiner) instead. When the letters are eventually received, Mistress Quigley (Louise Winter), Meg, Alice, ...

The Orchestra of Opera North: The Pearl Fishers – Hull City Hall

25Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Orchestra of Opera North: The Pearl Fishers – Hull City Hall

On a sweltering Saturday evening in Hull, members of the Opera North company braved warm stage lights when they performed The Pearl Fishers in the magnificent surroundings of the City Hall. The Pearl Fishers is one of Bizet's earliest operas, first being performed in 1863 and lambasted by the critics on its opening night. Well, 160 years later, here in 2023, this critic can't think of anything "lambastable" about the 24-year-old Bizet's efforts, or Opera North's production either for that matter. Mind you, the hall itself could not have provided a better backdrop, with its amazing 1911 organ - all, 5,505 pipes of it - beneath a colourful Baroque revival style ceiling. Arranged in front of this masterpiece were the tenors, mezzos, sopranos and basses of the Chorus of Opera North...

The Pearl Fishers – Opera North at The Bridgewater Hall

9Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Pearl Fishers – Opera North at The Bridgewater Hall

Bizet’s first full length opera took six months from being commissioned to being performed in 1863 and whilst receiving a hostile reception from the critics, it was popular with audiences as, set in the then Ceylon, it draws upon its exotic setting to explore issues such as the conflict between love and duty, and jealousy whilst testing out new musical ideas and motifs that were ultimately to come to the fore in Carmen some twelve years later. Zurga (Quirijn de Lang) and Nadir (Nico Darmanin) are old friends who reminisce that despite having fallen in love with the same young women years before, it hadn’t got in the way of their loyalty to each other. With Zurga now the leader of their village, their relationship is about to be tested again with the arrival of a veiled young priestess, ...

31Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Opera North: Tosca – Hull New Theatre

It was drama from curtain up, on Thursday evening at the Hull New Theatre, when Opera North’s Tosca came to town, thrilling us with the sight of escaped political prisoner, Cesare Angelotti (a very brave Callum Thorpe), dropping from on high via a rope, on to the stage and, with split-second timing, the rope falling unattached to the floor. Phew! Aided and abetted by wonderfully atmospheric music played by the talented members of the Orchestra of Opera North, the drama never let up throughout a longish evening of opera. Angelotti’s entrance, through a beautifully decorated cupola in a family chapel, finds him in the company of his friend, artist, Mario Cavaradossi (Mykhailo Malafii), who gives him food and the key to his villa, advising him to hide in a secret chamber down a well in ...

Opera North: Ariadne auf Nexus – The Lowry

11Mar

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Ariadne auf Nexus – The Lowry

Strauss collides with Fellini in Opera North’s co-production with Gothenberg Opera, as director Rodula Gaitanou relocates the action from 18th Century Vienna to a 1950’s Italian film studio, where another collision takes place as an opera company’s heart-breaking tragedy meets the light musical comedy of a commedia dell’arte troupe, and as the two become merged into one, the result is an absolute delight in both sound and vision. Whilst the film shoot of Ariadne auf Naxos is performed in the original German, the Prologue has been translated from Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s original libretto by Christopher Cowell into a multilingual version that sees the opera Composer (Hanna Hipp) deal with the ensuing mayhem in English although reverting to German for personal reflection, whilst Prima Donn...

10Mar

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Tosca – The Lowry

Opera North’s return to the Lowry this month is reason indeed to celebrate; even more so with the revival of Edwin Dick’s acclaimed production of Tosca being part of this year’s touring programme. Written over 120 years ago; Puccini’s Tosca is still just as thrilling, as captivating and gives you much more drama than anything you’d find on Netflix. The heroine is a renowned prima donna, her hero an artist, and the villain the corrupt head of the secret police. With everything from love and blackmail, to revenge and even murder… Tosca really will leave you questioning just how far you would go to save the ones you love. Giselle Allen returns as Floria Tosca alongside Ukrainian Tenor; Mykhailo Malafii as Mario Cavardossi, Both deliver powerhouse performances throughout with chemistr...

<strong>Opera North: Orpheus – The Lowry</strong>

20Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Orpheus – The Lowry

Opera North’s latest venture into Orpheus is a collaboration with Leeds-based South Asian Arts as their respective musical directors’ fuse Monteverdi’s operatic masterpiece, led by Laurence Cummings, with original compositions composed by Jasdeep Singh Degun reflecting the Indian classical tradition. Whilst the individual parts entertained and demonstrated some great musicianship and singing, it didn’t really add up to a satisfying whole which was often confusing on the eye and ear with its interrupted flow. Whilst billed as a reimagining, the story of Orpheus (Nicholas Watts) the musician trying to retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice (Ashnaa Sasikaran), from the underworld remains the same as does the devastating conclusion when he looks back too soon and loses her forever. The interpreta...

<strong>Opera North: Orfeo ed Euridice – The Lowry</strong>

19Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Orfeo ed Euridice – The Lowry

First recorded in April 2021 for BBC Radio 3 when Covid restrictions prevented live performance, Opera North present a concert performance of one of Gluck’s key works in his reinvention, in conjunction with librettist Calzabigi, of opera for his own time, as part of their wider celebration of the Orpheus myth which makes up their autumn season. Orfeo’s (Alice Coote) wife Euridice (Fflur Wynn) is dead, and a chorus of nymphs and shepherds mourn her. Orfeo is inconsolable but Amore (Daisy Brown) appears to tell him that Jupiter has taken pity on him and will grant him safe passage to the underworld where he can return Euridice to the land of the living. There is one condition however: he must not look at Euridice until they have reached the light of day. If he does, he will lose her again...

<strong>Opera North: La Traviata – The Lowry</strong>

17Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: La Traviata – The Lowry

Director Alessandro Talevi’s production is much aided by Madeline Boyd’s sumptuous set and costume design as it relishes its traditional 19th Century roots. At its heart lies a love story which draws upon Alexandre Dumas the Younger’s real-life doomed love affair with well-known courtesan, Marie Duplessis. We open with Violetta (Alison Langer) aided by her friend Flora (Victoria Sharp) hosting a lavish party where she is introduced by Gastone (Gavan King) to his friend, Alfredo Germont (Nico Darmanin), a fervent admirer, who is more concerned for her failing health than her escort, Baron Douphal (James Cleverton). When Alfredo declares his love for her she wonders if he could be the one amidst her desire to be free to live her life. A year on and Alfredo (Oliver Johnston) and Violett...

Rapper Testament is back in the record shop at Leeds

11Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Rapper Testament is back in the record shop at Leeds

World record-breaking beatboxer Testament is again joining forces with Opera North as they collaborate on his genre busting piece Orpheus in the Record Shop at Leeds Playhouse. The show was first seen during a short socially distanced run at the height of the pandemic that was filmed for BBC Four’s Lights Up series. Testament will be front of stage working with members of the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North, including soloist Helen Evora. Why is it important that audiences get a chance to see this show again in the Playhouse’s biggest theatre space? Performing this show live is bananas! A classical ensemble live on stage, with beatboxing, spoken word and comedy – it’s a unique thing to be part of. I’ve been telling all my friends and family to come along because it...