Opera review: Krol Roger (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: Krol Roger
Performance date: 7.30pm, Tuesday 12 May 2015
Run date: 1-19 May 2015
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ** (out of 5)
Credits: MusicKarol Szymanowski, Libretto: Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. Director: Kasper Holten.

Obscure Polish opera. Poor interpretation. Eh.

Thankfully short. Synopsis makes it sound substantial and worth seeing. Interpretation and staging so uninspiring you fall asleep.

Further information:
Krol Roger (Wikipedia)
Royal Opera House (official site)

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Opera review: Madama Butterfly (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: Madama Butterfly
Performance date: 7.30pm Tuesday 10 March February 2015
Run date: 20 March—11 April 2015
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ** (out of 5)
Credits: Music: Giacomo Puccini, Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa, Director: Moshe Leiser. Cast includes: Cio-Cio-San – Ana María Martínez, Pinkerton – Brian Jagde, Sharpless – Gabriele Viviani.

Disappointing production and a waste of money. That’s all you really need to know. The singing was ok but the sets, costumes and staging were uninspired and utterly boring. The show also looks nothing like the advertising images for it. Waste of time and money. Was hoping for something beautiful as a former production was great and the Opera House has a lot of money to spend on these shows. However they skimped and it was poorly presented to the point where many around me were falling asleep. An expensive afternoon nap.

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)

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Performing arts review: A Gala Celebration – Life Reimagined (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Performing arts review: A Gala Celebration – Life Reimagined
Performance date: 7.30pm Wednesday 25 February 2015
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: *** (out of 5)
Credits: Various composers and artists performing their work.

Hodge-podge fundraising production. A little of it was great. Most of it was boring. Shame as these things can be excellent. Favourite numbers were the ballet dances by: Soares and Nunez (“Diamonds”), Lamb and Acosta (from Carousel), Macrae and Osipova and the number for Elisir D’Amore with Bryn Terfel in it. A nice way to give money to charity. Actually, had forgotten I had gone to this till I found the programme a couple of weeks later. That sums up what I thought of it lol – forgettable!

Maybe I’d go again if I knew in advance what the programme contained. If you didn’t go, you didn’t miss anything!

It should aim to be more like The Russian Ballet Icons at the English National Opera that happens every year. [Actually I missed it this year due to little advertising – it was amazing – I am heartbroken! *sigh*]

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)

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Opera review: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Performance date: 7.30pm Tuesday 10 March February 2015
Run date: 10 March – 4 April 2015
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ** (out of 5)
Credits: Music – Kurt Weill, Libretto – Bertolt Brecht, Director – John Fulljames

Written in the 1930s by Weill and Brecht, this opera has the potential to be interesting. It’s about convicts from Alaska going to a city named Mahagonny to start a new life. The city is based around drinking, gambling and prostitution. It is cut throat if you can’t pay your bills. Sound familiar? Sound like a take on Las Vegas – well it probably is?

The sets and lighting for this production were interesting. I liked this. However, other than that, there was no character development and it was  boring and uninspired. The characters were amoral and flat – oh big deal, they are gambling, womanising, drinking and killing each other.

I was glad when this production was over and I could leave. Waste of time and money. Save up your pennies for the upcoming Don Giovanni and Falstaff! Now, that should be interesting decadence!

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)

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Opera review: The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (London Coliseum, London, WC2)

Opera review: The Mastersingers of Nuremberg
London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4ES
London Coliseum – map
Performance date: 5pm, Tuesday 3 March 2015
Production run: 7 February – 10 March 2015
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ***** (out of 5)

Credits/synopses: Music and libretto: Richard Wagner. Directed by: Richard Jones.

A knight is looking for a bride – this is the five-hour long story of telling him how he finds her as he meets and tries to impress the mastersingers of Nuremberg!

Great and vibrant show – well as much as you can be with a long, detailed five-hour opera. Excellent singing and sets. Costumes were bizarre patterns and colours – like something out of a 1960s-trying to do Renaissance fashion project. The production was very detailed and I felt like I had indeed entered a German community. You truly get to know all the characters. Simple plot with lots of details to build up the characters and relationship between them. A bit long for me, but glad I saw some lighter and straight-forward Wagner.

Worth seeing if you don’t mind something slow-moving and in-depth.

Further information:
English National Opera (official site)
The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (Wikipedia)

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Opera review: The Flying Dutchman (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: The Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer)
Performance date: 7.30pm Tuesday 24 February 2015
Run date: 5-24 February 2015
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ***** (out of 5)
Credits: Music/libretto – Richard Wagner, director – Tim Albery. Cast: The Dutchman – Bryn Terfel, Senta – Adrianne Pieczonka, Erik – Michael König.

The Dutchman is a ship captain doomed to sail the seas unless he can find a woman who will love him truly till her death. Every seven years he can come to shore to look for his true love. He comes ashore and meets Senta. He is hoping she will break his curse. Of course, as this is a tragedy, he screws up and is doomed to sail the seas again. The Dutchman is a prima donna and ruins the wonderful story he has set up. The ending would have been better if someone died tragically. But, Wagner is probably trying to show the downfall of human arrogance and self love.

The Royal Opera House’s production of this opera this year was modern. It was a good solid production with interesting sets (even water on the stage) and interesting things – gangways and the like – that rose and fell on stage. The production was 2 hours 30 minutes with no intermission. Most performances have an intermission. In this case, they just decided to go straight through. Frankly, it would have been fine with an intermission.  But, they didn’t do this.

I like this opera and production. I wish it had been more traditional and I had been able to place the time period/costumes, but I couldn’t. The story line and the sets are what carried the piece. Bryn Terfel was the best of the cast. The music for this piece was also good. I am glad I saw it, but don’t think I will ever see it again. Not vibrant enough for me.

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)
The Flying Dutchman opera by Wagner (Wikipedia)

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Opera review: Andrea Chénier (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: Andrea Chénier
Performance date: 7.30pm Tuesday 20 January 2015
Run date: 20 January 2015 – 6 February 2015
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ***** (out of 5)
Credits: Music: Umberto Giordano, Libretto: Luigi Illica, Director: David McVicar, Set design: Robert Jones, Costume designs: Jenny Tiramani. Cast includes: Andrea Chénier – Jonas Kaufmann, Maddalena de Coigny – Eva-Maria Westbroek, Carlo Gérard – Željko Lučić.

If you love traditional operas or just passionate drama in general, you can’t help but love this opera. The Royal Opea House has done an amazing traditional staging of this passionate and tragic opera and you will love it. This piece is based loosely on the life of French poet Andrea Chénier (1762-1794), who was executed during the French Revolution. In this story, Andrea Chénier falls in love with Maddalena de Coigny but their love is doomed as his rival for her affections has him sent off to be executed for false crimes. Of course, Maddelena can’t see him face his cruel fate alone!

Wonderfully done opera, harks you back to 18th century France and the Revolution. All three main singers are in amazing voice and the costumes and sets are fantastic. I loved this opera. It seemed to fly by and I was enthralled by the story, the singing and the acting. It is sold out like it deserves!

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)
Andrea Chénier (Wikipedia)

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Opera review: Un ballo in maschera (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: Un ballo in maschera
Performance date: 7.30pm Monday 22 December 2014
Run date: 18 December 2014 – 17 January 2015
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ***** (out of 5)
Credits: Music: Giuseppe Verdi, Libretto: Antonio Somma, Director: Katharina Thoma, Set design: Soutra Gilmour, Costume designs: Irina Bartels. Cast includes: Riccardo – Joseph Calleja, Amelia – Liudmyla Monastyrska, Renato – Dmitri Hvorostovsky.

For those who love a European, gothic opera then look no further! This is an amazing production that is beautiful to behold. I wasn’t sure what I would think of this opera after reading some negative word of mouth about it being lacklustre and passionless – but this opera was completely the opposite and one of the best operas I saw all year!

This production of Un ballo in maschera is amazingly lush! It is highly detailed and old-style European, so if you like that kind of thing, with a dark or noir edge, then you will probably love this production. This show reminds me very much of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death in that there is death at a masked ball. Count Riccardo is in love with his best friend, Renato’s wife, Amelia. Before Renato finds this out, Riccardo goes to a fortune teller who tells him that he will be murdered soon by the first person to shake his hand after his meeting with her. Of course, this turns out to be Renato and after he finds out that Riccardo was after his wife, R’s fate is sealed – at the masked ball. This opera is about the build up to the count’s untimely death. It is passionate, sad and amazing to look at. The singing was excellent although not stellar. I loved this production and am so glad that it was staged! A five-star production all the way and now one of my favourite operas – the singers were passionate and you were interested in their characters. Not to be missed!

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)
Un ballo in maschera (Wikipedia)

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Opera review: Tristan und Isolde (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: Tristan und Isolde
Performance date: 7.30pm, Tuesday 18 November 2014
Run date: 18 November to 23 December 2014
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: 0 (out of 5)
Credits: Music and libretto: Richard Wagner, Director: Christof Loy, Set design: Johannes Leiacker, Lighting design: Olaf Winter, Dramaturg: Marion Tiedtke, Conductor: Antonio Pappano. Cast includes: Tristan – Stephen Gould, Isolde – Nina Stemme.

Sorry to say that this was an abyssmal performance through and through. Five hours of a bare stage with only a chair and plum curtain as the set. Singers that were ok but not great. Uggh, what an utter waste of time, money and effort. Nothing creative about it! Even this year’s production of Idomeneo, which got booed, had more substance and generally excellent singers.

This one was R & R – rubbish and rip-off through and through – run the other way as fast as you can! I guess the ROH was trying to capitalise, spend no budget and still get all the money from the drinks and food during the intervals. Well, they succeeded as it was sold-out (naively) nonetheless.

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)
L’Elise D’Amore (Wikipedia)

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Opera review: L’Elisir D’Amore (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)

Opera review: L’Elisir D’Amore (Royal Opera House, London, WC2)
Performance date: 7.30pm, Tuesday 18 November 2014
Run date: 18 November to 23 December 2014
Royal Opera House – map
Bow Street, Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DD
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: **** (out of 5)
Credits: Music by Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Felice Romani, Directed by/costumes: Laurent Pelly, Set designs: Chantal Thomas. Performers: Adina – Lucy Crowe, Nemorino – Vittorio Grigolo,  Belcore – Levente Molnár, Dr Dulcamara – Bryn Terfel.

This is a great opera – and it happily, far exceeded my expectations! This is the story of Nemorino who is a young, innocent lad in a small Italian farming community. He has fallen in love with the lovely lady, Adina who in the beginning does not reciprocate his undying love. Set in the 1950s, we see the sly Dr Dulcamara come to town with his love potion – the Elisir D’Amore. The doctor convinces Nemorino to buy some and that the next day, Adina will love him back. So, this is what we see through the opera and, well, by the end, the potion “works” and Nemorino is filthy rich to boot! Not bad – and soon the whole town wants the doctor’s potion!

This opera was wonderful because it was light and fun. The setting was interesting but a bit modern and sparse. If you don’t mind your opera bein performed, mainly on huge bails of fake hay, then you have nothing to worry about. The entire, cast, especially Crowe as Adina and Griggolo as Nemorino were in wonderful voice. So glad I heard them so now I know some more opera singers that I think have spectacular voices!

This is  a big, fun, feel-good production. The story line is easy to follow and there are many laughs to be had. Not the most mind-blowing thing I have ever seen but definitely worth my time and money!

Further information:
Royal Opera House (official site)
L’Elise D’Amore (Wikipedia)

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