SWAP'ra gala at Opera Holland Park (Photo Robert Workman) |
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 31 July 2018
A glorious musical celebration of women in opera
Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier - Janis Kelly, Diana Montague, Sophie Bevan (Photo Robert Workman) |
In fact, the gala was about much more than just a celebration of female characters in opera, the cast consisted of 43 female singers, with nine female directors, four female conductors, a 47-strong female chorus, a 37-strong female orchestra, an all-women backstage crew in a programme which included music by four female composers. It was a celebration of the important role that women play in opera, and a testament to the support which SWAP'ra has garnered since its founding, nine months ago. It was of course, a fund raising gala [you can support here], with a raffle and a silent auction, but it was the music that held the attention.
Mark Adamo: Little Women - Lucy Schaufer, Rebecca Caine, Jennifer France, Beth Moxon - (Photo Robert Workman) |
We opened with the three ladies from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Katie Bird, Catherine Hopper and Rosie Aldridge, triumphing in strong and characterful fashion over the prone body of Tamino, this was followed by the spinning quartet from Britten's Rape of Lucretia, a wonderfully concentrated performance with Jennifer Johnston as a moving Lucretia, Lee Bissett as a powerful female chorus, Nazan Fikret and Rhonda Browne. Each scene was fully staged, so that for Lucretia we even had a spinning wheel for Rhonda Browne's Bianca.
Helen Sherman appeared with the chorus in a powerful scene from Roxanna Panufnik's Silver Birch (premiered at Garsington Opera last year), whilst Rhian Lois and Gaynor Keeble brought a strong sense of characterful comedy to Susanna and Marcellina's duet from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin - Katharine Broderick, Angela Simkin, Amanda Roocroft, Fiona Kimm - (Photo Robert Workman) * |
There was more Mozart with an extended scene from Cosi fan tutte. It was lovely to re-encounter Sarah Tynan's delightfully sly and witty Despina, familiar from the Opera Holland Park production this year [see my review] and this was followed by a duet for the two sisters with Jeni Bern and Katie Bray providing delightfully contrasting characters. I particularly loved the way Jeni Bern's Fiordiligi spent the whole scene never quite putting both shoes on!
One of the fascinations with galas is the chance to hear singers in roles that they do not perform on stage. For the Act One quartet from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Katharine Broderick (who has now taken Wagner's Brunnhilde into her repertoire and is singing Isolde next season) returned to the role of Tatyana, with Amanda Roocroft as her mother, Fiona Kimm as Filippyevna and Angela Simkin as Olga. Roocroft and Kimm, who were sitting processing fruit for jam making, created a beautifully intimate scene, with Broderick as a strikingly vibrant Tatyana (Brunnhilde was far away) and Simkin a dark-voiced Olga.
Puccini: Suor Angelica - Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Anne Sophie Duprels - (Photo Robert Workman) |
More Britten next, with the quartet 'From the gutter' from Peter Grimes, another quietly concentrated moment with powerful performances from Giselle Allen (Ellen Orford), Yvonne Howard (Auntie), Rebecca Bottone and Gillian Ramm (as the nieces). The first half finished in a striking manner with the duet 'Mira O Norma' from Bellini's Norma with Madeleine Pierard as Norma and Catherine Carby as Adalgisa, a pairing whose strong performance made me hope someone quickly casts the pair of them in a full staging of the opera.
After the interval Anna Patalong was a delightful Giannetta in a scene from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, imaginatively staged with a chorus of seven. A scene from Rossini's La cenerentola, had Fleur de Bray and Samantha Price as a lively pair of modern sisters, with Sarah Castle as a quiet and serious Cenerentola. Anne Sophie Duprels sang the role of Angelica in Puccini's Suor Angelica at Opera Holland Park a couple of seasons ago, and it was a pleasure to re-encounter her moving performance here with Catherine Wyn-Rogers as a strong and implacable Principessa.
Emma Carrington gave us a quietly thoughtful moment in the title role of Elena Langer's Rhondda Rips it up! which was premiered by Welsh National Opera earlier this year [see my review]. In complete contrast, we went back to the early beginnings of opera for the closing duet from Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea with Anna Devin and Kitty Whately in spine-tingling form as Poppea and Nerone.
SWAP'ra gala at Opera Holland Park - Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore - Anna Patalong & chorus - (Photo Robert Workman) |
The last item was not operatic, the entire cast gathered on stage to perform Lucy Pankhurst's The Pankhurst Anthem which was commissioned by the BBC for the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the first Women's Suffrage act
Mozart, Die Zauberflöte
Conductor: Jessica Cottis
Director: Francesa Gilpin
1st Lady: Katie Bird
2nd Lady: Catherine Hopper
3rd Lady: Rosie Aldridge
Britten, The Rape of Lucretia
Conductor: Jessica Cottis
Director: Ruth Mariner
Lucretia: Jennifer Johnston
Female Chorus: Lee Bisset
Lucia: Nazan Fikret
Bianca: Rhonda Browne
Roxanna Panufnik, Silver Birch
Conductor: Jessica Cottis
Director: Karen Gillingham
Anna: Helen Sherman
Mozart, La nozze di Figaro
Conductor: Sonia Ben-Santamaria
Director: Genevieve Raghu
Susanna: Rhian Lois
Marcellina: Gaynor Keeble
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Conductor: Sonia Ben-Santamaria
Director: Sophie Gilpin
Cio-Cio San: Meeta Raval
Suzuki: Carolyn Dobbin
Mozart, Cosi fan tutte
Conductor: Susannah Wapshott
Director: Poppy Burton-Morgan
Despina: Sarah Tynan
Fiordiligi: Jeni Bern
Dorabella: Katie Bray
Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin
Conductor: Susannah Wapshott
Director: Francesca Gilpin
Tatyana: Katherine Broderick
Mme Larina: Amanda Roocroft
Olga: Angela Simkin
Filippyevna: Fiona Kimm
Mark Adamo, Little Women
Conductor: Jessica Cottis
Director: Fiona Williams
Jo: Lucy Schaufer
Beth: Rebecca Caine
Amy: Jennifer France
Meg: Karen Cargill
Britten, Peter Grimes
Conductor: Jessica Cottis
Director: Poppy Burton-Morgan
Ellen: Giselle Allen
Auntie: Yvonne Howard
First Niece: Rebecca Bottone
Second Niece: Gillian Ramm
Bellini, Norma
Conductor: Alice Farnham
Director: Lucy Bradley
Norma: Madeleine Pierard
Adalgisa: Catherine Carby
Donizetti, L’elisir d’amore
Conductor: Alice Farnham
Director: Fiona Williams
Gianetta: Anna Patalong
Rossini, La Cenerentola
Conductor: Alice Farnham
Director: Genevieve Raghu
Angelina: Sarah Castle
Clorinda: Fleur de Bray
Tisbe: Samantha Price
Puccini, Suor Angelica
Conductor: Alice Farnham
Director: Sophie Gilpin
Angelica: Anne Sophie Duprels
Principessa: Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Monteverdi, L’incoronazione di Poppea
Conductor: Susannah Wapshott
Director: Robin Norton-Hale
Poppea: Anna Devin
Nerone: Kitty Whately
Josephine Stephenson, Les Constellations
Conductor: Jessica Cottis
Director: Robin Norton-Hale
Marianne: Caroline MacPhie
Marie: Gillian Keith
Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier
Conductor: Jessica Cottis
Director: Lucy Bradley
Marschallin: Janis Kelly
Octavian: Diana Montague
Sophie: Mary Bevan
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