2003 Reviews

Opera Holland Park 

"As one now expects from that institution, the performance is in all ways fully professional. I now have high expectations of the productions, and have yet to be disappointed. The musical standards both of Stiffelio and of L'Arlesiana earlier in the season have easily equalled many of the things I've seen in the last season in London's two opera houses…. A capacity audience showed by its enthusiasm what a necessary institution OHP is."
Michael Tanner, The Spectator

"Opera Holland Park - enjoying one of its most successful artistic seasons of late." Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times 

"A terrific season for Opera Holland Park, one that makes you wonder why anyone bothers leaving London for the country house jamborees." Robert Thicknesse, The Times 

"Opera Holland Park is on a roll this summer." "…Holland Park Opera is enjoying a vintage year." Anthony Holden, The Observer

"Opera Holland Park - a company who is knocking spots off everyone else this summer" The Times

• Fidelio
• Tosca
• Werther
• L'Arlesiana
• Lucia
• Stiffelio

Fidelio

"I know of no other production of Fidelio that so unerringly captures the extremes of human suffering…Leonore is played by Yvonne Howard in a performance of overwhelming vocal and dramatic intensity and marks her out as one of the finest singing actresses this country has produced. Distressing to watch…fiercely conducted…scrupulously played..this is an unforgettable piece of music theatre. Very highly recommended" Tim Ashley, The Guardian ****

"Fidelio…triumphantly opening the Opera Holland Park season…Sarah Redgwick - a 100 watt lightbulb of a voice - a most promising songbird… Yvonne Howard..full tone and ardent emotion…Alan Oke voice was worth the wait, a laser beam, agonisingly clear" Geoff Brown, The Times ****

"We have now in central London a 'country house opera' which easily stands comparison with Glyndebourne and is worthy to pull in opera buffs from far afield…This is a Fidelio which exemplifies all that is best about recent developments in operatic production….was electrifying…you will not see or hear finer or equally convincing realisations of the challenging roles of Leonora and Florestan in any of the great opera houses of Europe…I have never heard sounding so 'right'….they have a triumph on their hands." Peter Graham Woolf, The Opera Critic 

"A stirring new production of Fidelio..Olivia Fuchs's modern-day setting catches the sweaty insecurity of tyranny..Conal Coad was a powerful Rocco. Sarah Redgwick was a bright and spirited Marzelline, her doubts over her future with Jaquino after she discovers the truth about Fidelio touchingly drawn. As Jaquino, Christopher Saunders …was on just as fine form as Marzelline's spurned and angry suitor. Nicholas Folwell seemed about as stable as a stick of gelignite as Don Pizzaro. I was enthralled by the Fidelio/Leonore of Yvonne Howard ..tender, passionate, fearless in the face of the vertical ascents of Abscheulicher! and Namenlose Freude. Just as unforgettable was Alan Oke as Florestan, singing and acting with clarity and urgency." Peter Reed, The Sunday Telegraph

"Gripping….wonderfully sung…..masterful conducting. From the spirited opening bars, this was a Fidelio which consistently achieved all the right pacings; a real sense of how the detail fits into the greater whole…for Alan Oke it was a personal triumph." Roderic Dunnett, The Independent ****

"Starkly effective….chilling….a highly charged and emotional evening…gorgeous… It is hard to overpraise Yvonne Howard's intensely passionate Leonora, shading her phrases beautifully…her duet with the impressive Alan Oke was a soaring pleasure…the orchestra conducted by Peter Robinson played with a fire and commitment, backing the ensemble with thrilling ferocity". Tom Vallance, What's On ****

"Crackling with dramatic tension and brimming with beautiful music." Liza Graham, Metro *** 

"A vividly urgent Fidelio..powerfully performed. Yvonne Howard's heartbreakingly noble Leonore.. Alan Oke's affecting Florestan ..Nicholas Folwell's chilling Pizzaro. There can be few more timely ways to convey Beethoven's timeless message, especially with cast and orchestra on such compelling form under Peter Robinson." Anthony Holden, The Observer

"An outstanding production , the prisoner's chorus is profoundly moving.. all sing strongly..Yvonne Howard and Alan Oke are the glory of the evening. Howard brings restraint and dignity to the role..her vibrant mezzo rising to the musical challenges with power and sensitivity. Oke's Florestan embodies goodness, singing with warm, centred tone. They thrillingly trigger the emotional release of O namenlose Freude.

Peter Robinson has the chorus and RPO singing and playing with impassioned intensity. A stirring evening." The Stage, David Blewitt

"Yvonne Howard's Leonore showed just the committed intensity ..an unflinching musical and dramatic interpretation. And Alan Oke's Florestan was just as compelling, sung in a firm, athletic and expressive tenor. Nicholas Folwell's uniformed Don Piazarro exuded malice..Conal Coad's warmly-sung Rocco convincingly encompassed the serious and comic sides of the character, and Sarah Redgwick's spirited Marzelline was easily able to hold the stage alone." Erica Jeal, Opera

Tosca

"Holland Park Opera is enjoying a vintage year …"

"Roderick Earle's thrillingly scary Scarpia .. Christine Bunning graced the title role with style and magnificence, in complete vocal command, with a Cavaradossi in Dominic Natoli almost worth dying for. Anthony Holden, The Observer

"Christine Bunning, who creates a highly-charged portrait of the heroine, is thrilling in her upper register, and is simply electrifying at the climaxes". Warwick Thompson , The Metro

"Rich elegant..Christine Bunning creates moments of heartbreaking intensity..one of the best productions seen on a London stage recently" Giornale della Musica

"Stunningly effective…Bunning is a gloriously passionate Tosca..Earle is chillingly convincing… truly riveting…Natoli showed power and passion, his final duet with Bunning was glorious" Tom Vallance, What's On ****

"Christine Bunning..stunning, she approaches the climaxes with all guns blazing. Natoli is exemplary. Here is the full Italian tenor style and manner, delivered with a golden voice. His 'E lucevan le stelle' is distinguished, his acting assured and  to the point" George Hall, The Stage

"The most effective scene in Opera Holland Park's production of Tosca is the chilling climax to the first act.Natoli's powerful voice and convincing interpretation ..His engaging tenor relishes the big moments of the role, and his vocal performance is matched by a subtle portrayal of Cavaradossi as lover and revolutionary."

"Cavaradossi and Christine Bunning's Tosca is sensitively depicted .. Earle's performance is most effective." Tom Service, The Guardian ***

Werther

"I loved it .. it is just the ticket.

Alison Kettlewell and Amos Christie do it in fine, self absorbed style, with plenty of rationed vocal passion the music allows, and a feel for stylised swoonings of the French style.

A stream of wondrously inventive orchestration.It is intelligent crowd pleasing stuff and Dominic Wheeler leads its surges and end relaxations with an expert touch. this is a joyous performance that catches every bit of Massenet's various scene-painting." Robert Thicknesse, The Times ****

"An excellent cast …The emotional complexities are beautifully delineated. The musical values are high. Howard Quilla Croft is strong..best of all is Kettlewell, who wonderfully exposes Charlotte's psychological and moral hell. Well worth seeing."  Tim Ashley, The Guardian***

"Alison Kettlewell's superb Charlotte..the music is ravishing, with the RPO on especially fine form under Dominic Wheeler, and a strong supporting cast confidently led by Howard Quilla Croft's manly, sympathetic Albert." Anthony Holden, The Observer

"A gloriously rich score..the opera's gorgeous third act is splendidly realised by Kettlewell and the piece's most celebrated solo for Werther "Pourquoi me Reveiller?" is quite marvellous, leading to the movingly tragic climax." Tom Vallance, What's On ****

"… the conducting of Dominic Wheeler, who draws sensitive playing from the orchestra and shows real command of a style that needs finely shaded colours and constant fluidity to make its proper impact…". "Massenet's genius shines through." George Hall, The Stage

L'Arlesiana

"Opera Holland Park is on a roll this summer, prolonged by Jamie Hayes's stirring production of Francesco Cilea's L'Arlesiana, which sees Rosalind Plowright's formidable Rosa Mamai mother her son Federico to death…..an angst-ridden performance of great power and eloquence from a young tenor with a big future, Sean Ruane."

"As the wronged girl next-door, Kate Ladner's Vivetta touchingly completes the doomed triangle, which sees OHP's second consecutive curtain suicide. Let's hope it becomes a house motif, if it elicits such fine playing from the RPO under Charles Peebles and strong performances from a cast, for once, without a single weak link." Anthony Holden, The Observer

"Opera Holland Park - enjoying one of its most successful artistic seasons of late. Rosalind Plowright..singing with the big, gutsy Italianate tone and hell-for-leather abandon that could turn her into Britain's own senior cult diva." Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times

"Moments of heady lyricism..a final act that leaves you feeling shattered. Opera Holland Park has done wonders with the opera. Jamie Hayes' production has tremendous simplicity and clarity and keeps you hooked. Charles Peebles's conducting has a brooding sensuality, and the cast is excellent, dominated by Rosalind Plowright's stridently hysterical Rosa and Sean Ruane's handsome, scarily disturbed Federico. Kate Ladner is a vulnerable Vivetta and Nicholas Todorovic a dangerously sexual Metifio. The whole is a lesson in how to make an opera come vividly alive. " 
  Tim Ashley, The Guardian****

"Love,despair and violence all wrapped up in a package of gorgeous melodies. L'Arlesiana has it all. A barnstorming production..a high-octane, rip-roaring success. The casting is pure gold. Rosalind Plowright is wonderfully nervy as Rosa Mamai..her huge voice packs a real emotional punch. Sean Ruane and Kate Ladner pitch their performances at exactly the right level of grand intensity and Vassily Savenko's voice is so powerful it can probably be heard in Holland, let alone the rest of Holland Park. A triumph". Warwick Thompson, Metro*****

"Beguiling..astonishing..threatening.. This opera launched Caruso - it is not fanciful to mention Sean Ruane (Federico) in the same breath. This magnificent tenor serves up one of the most glorious sounds to be heard on any British stage..a passion and a beauty that locates him slap bang on the "Three Tenors" plane…. Rosalind Plowright..a dominating performance" Roderic Dunnett, The Independent**** 

An explosive dose of realism……an explosive final act and several grandly emotional showpiece numbers …it is refreshing to to encounter (a piece) that is so concisely and firmly structured. Rosalind Plowright - a magnificent and thrilling account of the soliloquy." Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph

"As the plot unravels we get the emotional blast that the composer intended…Rosalind Plowright is in fine form, a super dramatic mezzo..filled with pain, her top notes suffused with melancholy." Nick Kimberly, Evening Standard

"Rosalind Plowright gives a wonderfully tortured performance" Robert Thicknesse, The Times

"Rosalind Plowright turns up here in awesome voice as Rosa Mamai, her soprano sounds, dark and passionate and formidably powerful. 
Sean Ruane - a convincingly Italianate tenor .who looks right for ardent young Federico, has the tenderness for the opening of his aria and the passion for its climax. With Kate Ladner attractive in every way as bright young Vivetta and Vasilly Savenko fully in character.as Baldassare, it is a good cast and there is every reason to catch one of the remaining performances of this rare opera." Richard Fairman, Financial Times****

"Outstanding performances…Sean Ruane has a beautiful, silkily smooth tenor and Rosalind Plowright once again reveals herself as the Joan Crawford of the opera stage, superbly and passionately dominant." Tom Vallance, What's On ****

"Once again Rosalind Plowright, showed what a star she is, and what superb condition her voice is in… the concerned old shepherd Baldassare, was just as strikingly taken by Vasily Savenko. And Federico.. was the thrilling Sean Ruane, who in his big Act II lament invited and easily survived comparison with its finest performers.  He will surely be a star." Michael Tanner, Spectator

"This was OHP's second crack at Cilea's wham-bam slice of verismo and a very good crack too; the audience went mad at the end.  This was a fine performance, conducted with great dash by Charles Peebles and purposefully directed by Jamie Hayes. A good rousing evening. " Rodney Milnes Opera   

Lucia di Lammermoor

"Anne Sophie Duprels…this is an exciting talent…those of us fortunate enough to have seen her Magda (in 2002) and Lucia will be boasting one day that we saw her when…. Mark Stone..with his powerfully ringing baritone, his brooding good looks and commanding sense of drama is a perfect match for Duprels. A thrilling blending of their voices in the rousing Se tradirmi tu portrait." Tom Vallance, What's On ****

"Phillippe Do is impeccably stylish. Mark Stone, in an exceptional performance, threatens and cajoles..under his influence, Anne Sophie Duprel's Lucia cracks with alarming dramatic vividness. The evening has moments of overwhelming power." Tim Ashley, The Guardian ***

"Anne Sophie Duprels' Lucia is as moving a Lucia as we have a right to expect outside the international superstar circuit." Nick Kimberly, Evening Standard 

"The cast and conductor, Jeremy Silver, leap on the roller-coaster with abandon…every phrase is taut, every note full of passion, every emotion full-bloodied. With her ripe coloratura sound, Anne Sophie Duprels makes a stunning Lucia…a tour de force. Mark Stone is wonderfully stentorian" Warwick Thompson, Metro ****

" Duprels is a singer of amazing natural gifts, with a weighty and flexible voice, a sure musical instinct, an alluring stage presence and a range of expression that must mean she is on the way to great things. Mark Stone gives a performance of great vocal power, Phillippe Do is sweet toned".  Robert Thicknesse, The Times ***

"London has its own festival to rival Glyndebourne or Garsington.OHP has cast an out and out winner. Anne Sophie Duprels sings like a dream. Her mad scene held us on the edge of our seats and richly deserved its ovation. I last heard the role sung by Dame Joan Sutherland and Mlle Duprels was not effaced by her." David Fingleton, Sunday Express ****

"French soprano Anne-Sophie Duprels …an unusually convincing, vocally fearless Lucia. Mark Stone, as her bullying brother, was also very good. Our "national" companies would be hard-pressed to put on as enjoyable a performance of Donizetti's masterpiece as this." Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times ***

"Anne Sophie Duprels seems to have it all; a full rounded voice, with a secure high register and an impressive coloratura technique - runs trills, dramatic leaps and falls were all finely balanced and hair-raisingly athletic. Mark Stone's dark baritone was superbly malevolent for Lucia's wicked brother Enrico. Jeremy Silver conducted the RPO in a powerful reading of the score and the chorus was on cracking form." Peter Reed, Sunday Telegraph

Stiffelio

"Bravo Holland Park for giving us the chance to see Stiffelio…which shows the composer at his most psychologically astute. Katarina Jovanovic is a budding world-class Verdi soprano with a high coloured voice and a brilliantly imaginative sense of phrasing." Warwick Thompson, Metro ***

THESE ARE the last shows in what has been a terrific season for Opera Holland Park, one that makes you wonder why anyone bothers leaving London for the country house jamborees. Verdi's 1850 opera received its uncut Italian premiere only in 1968, thanks to the rewrites forced on it by the Italian censors who took exception to this tale of adultery and revenge among an extreme Protestant sect. But it is one of Verdi's boldest and most unusual works, staged by Martin Lloyd-Evans among the Mennonites and starring Geraint Dodd, Katarina Jovanovic, John Rawnsley and Keel Watson. The Times

"Stiffelio is a powerful study of jealousy, convincingly portrayed by Geraint Dodd. As Lina, Katarina Jovanovich opened out to reveal a stylish and passionate Verdian soprano. John Rawnsley's stage presence and musicality, especially in his Act 3 aria were compelling. Under John Gibbons, there was no doubt that this is one of Verdi's tautest, most claustrophobic scores". Peter Reed, Sunday Telegraph

"Geraint Dodd brings fervent intensity to the title role." The Times, John Allison ***

"It provides a worthy climax to an exceptionally fine and enterprising season by Opera Holland Park." Tom Vallance, What's On ***

"Opera Holland Park's production of Stiffelio is so intensely enjoyable." Michael Tanner, The Spectator

"The best thing about this performance was that it happened. Maybe this astonishing work will now join the standard repertory …the second best thing is that the audience lapped it up, and the third is that it was extremely good. Katarina Jovanovic whose prowess has been noted at the Guildhall, was mightily impressive as Lina… Geraint Dodd is a force of nature… a vocally robust performance.. he impersonated Stiffelio to the very letter… John Rawnsley turned in a powerful and idiomatic performance of Stankar. A stirring occasion." Rodney Milnes, Opera