Umsagnir um fyrri framleiðslu
8That said the set is the star. The dilapidated conservatory in amongst the reeds and marshes feel like they have been part of the landscape for years, and sets just the right eerie tone. You are transported wholly into the house and its machinations, and Designer Soutra Gilmour must be praised for such an achievement.
The same could be said of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, his invincible 1954 chamber opera based on Henry James’s novella. Psychic forces grip the Governess in charge of two children, who may or may not be in thrall to two ghosts. In this first Regent’s Park Open Air theatre/ENO venture, young singers from ENO’s Harewood Artists programme – Rhian Lois, William Morgan, Elgan Llyr Thomas – led a double cast (I heard the second), conducted with superb authority by ENO Mackerras fellow Toby Purser. The 13-strong chamber ensemble was impeccable. As the children Miles and Flora, Sholto McMillan and Ellie Bradbury were chillingly convincing. Sholto’s brilliant miming on a dummy keyboard (played for real by on-stage piano) was a tour de force, never mind the insolent purity of his treble voice.
Such intensity demands a parallel level of emotional power from the pit, and here Stuart Stratford, a familiar name from Opera Holland Park (see Puccini’s La fanciulla or Mascagni’s Iris, for example), provided just that. The English National Opera Orchestra gave their all in a performance of Lucia that also included a great deal of nuance. Stratford understands the voice, and how phrases need to breathe; he also, crucially, gets Donizetti’s orchestration. A sense of flow permeated the whole from the very opening; and to hear the ENO Orchestra on such full-toned form was a joy indeed. They clearly respect Stratford, whose deep musicality added immeasurably to the evening.
Tynan fully identified with the portrayal of Lucia, giving us a profoundly disturbing picture of a woman who was controlled and neutralised by society, fighting back in the only way possible. This meant that in Acts One and Two she was relatively passive, and one of this production's clever strokes is to make Edgardo just as controlling, in his different way, as Enrico. It is clear, this Lucia will be controlled no matter what, so madness is the only way out.
PROUD TO SUPPORT UKRAINIANS FIND OUT HOW WE'RE HELPING Craft beer fans can get a box of 8 beers for £8 - and it comes with extra perks Hopsmore beer club Deborah James' romantic reconciliation with husband ahead of cancer diagnosis The Verbier Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary (I/II) Medici.tv EN Vicki Michelle: 'Weeing every 30 minutes' was sign of star's 'rugby ball' sized cyst Royal Family LIVE: Harry and Meghan poised for 'damage control' as William shows 'regret' by Taboola H.M.S. Pinafore REVIEW: A mix of Gilbert's witty lyrics and Sullivan's rollicking music 3 / 5 stars Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore Having celebrated the long-awaited return to their home at London's Coliseum Theatre with Philip Glass's esoteric Satyagraha, the English National Opera has gone to the other extreme with its first ever production of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. Jonathan Miller once contemptuously described G&S as "UKIP set to music" and there can hardly be a better example of what he meant than Pinafore. Set aboard a ship of the Royal Navy, it pokes merciless fun at the British class structure and the supposed merits of being an Englishman, but its simplicity is relieved by Gilbert's witty lyrics and Sullivan's rollicking music. By WILLIAM HARTSTON 17:30, Wed, Nov 3, 2021 | UPDATED: 17:30, Wed, Nov 3, 2021 0Comment sectionShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on PinterestCopy link HMS Pinafore John Savournin (Capt. Corcoran) and his 'midshipmite' (Rufus Bateman) (Image: Marc Brenner) Sign up for FREE now and never miss the top royal stories again Enter your email address here SUBSCRIBE We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Like most G&S, Pinafore is rather outdated and needs a good director to introduce some twists that appeal to a modern audience and on past performance, Cal McCrystal had all the right credentials. With two Paddington films and the stage hit One Man, Two Guvnors under his belt, as well as numerous other successes, he has repeatedly shown his ability to lift and sustain the comic level of a show.
In short, it’s a cracking night out, and ENO is running it into December. Take your kids, take your opera-sceptic friends; take your sisters and your cousins and your aunts. Definitely don’t take the kind of bore who can’t stand wisecracking cabin boys (they’ve added one, and in fairness he’s terrific) or poop-deck jokes (McCrystal and Toby Davies are credited with ‘additional material’); who prefers to hear Gilbert’s original dialogue savoured rather than sent up; or who’s liable to grumble that McCrystal can’t hear a quiet, reflective aria without an urge to blow it sky-high with yet more knockabout.
