Friday 29 March 2013

Mansfield Park returns

Jonathan Dove's opera Mansfield Park was commissioned by Heritage Opera in 2011 and has been toured to country houses with a brief run in London last year. Now it Hamstead Garden Opera are performing the work at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, the Gatehouse Pub in Highgate Village from 19 April to April 28. Directed by Bruno Ravella and designed by Holly Seager, with Oliver-John Ruthven as the musical director the piece is double cast. Librettist Alasdair Middleton has based the text on Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park. For maximum compactness, the work is scored for just piano-duet. 

Dove is one of that rare breed of composers able to write intelligent, well-written and well constructed operas which are still accessible. Alasdair Middleton has collaborated on quite a number of works with Dove, notably their operas Pinocchio and The Enchanted Pig. Dove's operas don't visit London as often as they deserve, so Hampstead Garden Opera's production Mansfield Park is a great treat. Further information from Hampstead Garden Opera's website.

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