We are no longer accepting comments on this article. But then again, in an interview in May 2012, she was asked, "Is there an art form you don't relate to? " He is ably supported by transgender baritone Lucia Lucas, who makes a very plausible London cabby voicing the views of 'public opinion' from a very real London taxi – this time a zany but apt directorial updating. Orpheus in the Underworld Tickets5/5 - based on 1 review. Opera review: Orpheus in the Underworld, English National Opera; The Seraglio, The Silver Lake, English Touring Opera. Sian Edwards finds the pools of lyric interlude that lie amidst the mayhem, but still works up a storm with the orchestra in the sections that require it. Eurydice almost immediately has a fling with a rather creepy shepherd – Pluto in disguise (Alex Otterburn).
We can help you save up to 70% on Orpheus in the Underworld tickets! Orphée is a self-obsessed poet, out of touch with modern society and his wife Eurydice, but with an unshakeable sense of entitlement. The balloon-tutu clad chorus provides the heavenly clouds. Running away from her violinist husband Orpheus, she is seduced and tricked into dancing in a sleazy dive in Soho. Hell is where the party's at. And why employ a choreographer, albeit a distinguished one, Wayne McGregor, to direct an opera? The theme was transposed to current times in a very inspiring way. Sian Edwards and the ENO Orchestra are in fine form, with well-judged tempi and nice balance. Promising elements were in place for the new English National Opera production of Offenbach's upbeat operetta, Orpheus in the Underworld.
He's excellent at creating sharply distinctive identities for characters, and strikes an adept balance between giving them too much comic business to attend to, and too little. And when the Bacchanal resumes, le galop infernal returns in a frenzy. The lustful Jupiter has suitably erectile wings, while his entomological alter ego, a tickling stick skilfully sported by puppeteer Chloe Christian, sends her orgasmic: a sort of insect-ual intercourse, one supposes. Opera is expressing emotion through music and voice, what is playing is noises rather than music with more noises coming out of the singers, but is that singing? All though is not as it seems, Aristaeus is one of the disguises from the box of disguises of Pluto, the god of the Underworld. And other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to. No, but I'm very glad that they did it, presenting operas together in a theme, attracting audiences with an exciting concept should be applauded, though I wish the execution had been slightly stronger. Ed Lyon (Zadok in Solomon, in concert) and former ENO Harewood artist Mary Brevan will portray Orpheus and Eurydice, respectively. Nevertheless, this is a piece that is visually impressive, witty and bold, and is executed with consummate skill by its artistes and propelled by the baton of conductor Sian Edwards (formerly ENO's Director of Music) and the ENO Orchestra. Mezzo-soprano Idunnu Münch (standing, in leopard skin) makes an impressive debut as Diana.
1 Thank Silverflora. Soraya Mafi who is also appearing in the season in the Mikado was a lovely cameo, she is so full of energy it's infectious. Designs by Daniel Lismore were literally dazzling, stitching 400, 000 Swarovski crystals into deliriously imaginative costumes, enchanting and blinding like the music itself. But this clutter may not be entirely a problem.
Icily excellent at the Princess/Death, she is by turns imperious, regal, elegant and passionate. You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. What is an operetta and how is it different from an opera? Etta Murfitt was the choreographer, with some impressive set pieces, notably during the final two Acts, set in the underworld of 1950s Soho. Moreover Rice weighs the work down with oceans of repetitive and pointless dialogue.
Everyone else tries very hard to be funny: only Alan Oke as a dipsomaniacal John Styx succeeds. On Tuesday, the company announced the appointment of Annilese Miskimmon as its next artistic director, from September 2020; she succeeds Daniel Kramer, who announced his departure in April. It is not clear to this reviewer that this frothy confection can bear the weight of so much ideological freight, or that it is necessary given that the figures of fun and bearers of negative reputation in this work are always the lecherous, sensation-surfeited gods, not the humans. For someone with such a glowing reputation for theatrical ingenuity, Rice's stagecraft is disappointingly lame, clumsy and uninventive.
Former ENO Music Director Sian Edwards returns to conduct. It's a formidably school-marmish piece of character acting: during the overture she scurries hyperactively around the theatre searching for the stage entrance, imperiously regaling the audience in her role as iron-girdled guardian of civic decency and decorum. Eurydice the Woman was sung with seductive melancholy by Marta Fontanals-Simmons; Claron McFadden delivered breathtaking coloratura as the Oracle of the Dead. Advertising Enquiries. Eurydice is in an abyss of despair, but she must dance with the others until "you feel your soul goes". She caused local hackles to raise almost immediately by announcing her decision to disband the resident ensemble of singers, one of the reasons cited for the resignation of the then music director, Karl-Heinz Steffens. There were some fantastic performances here: Alex Otterburn as Pluto owned the stage every time he was on it, admission is worth it just for his expressions and movements (think Sherlock's Moriarty with even more charm). Who wrote this instalment of the Orpheus myth? It has returned to the London Coliseum, where it was premiered, after over thirty years, in a new production by outgoing ENO artistic director. The opening seduction scene between Jupiter, disguised as a fly, and Eurydice was well-conceived and brilliantly acted by Mary Bevan and the un-named soprano wielding the fly and buzzing. This squalid and repellant crime scene is at odds with Offenbach's exuberant music, and the abuse of Eurydice is plain nasty, whether it be the ogling of the dirty mac brigade, the unwanted attentions of seedy John Styx (Alan Oke), the rape by Jupiter in the form of a fly, or the dance that Eurydice is compelled to perform. It takes skill yes, but I wouldn't call it opera. Remember my details. Director: Emma Rice.
keepcovidfree.net, 2024