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Prima Donnas and Picnics
Britain’s regular companies take a little time off over July and August, but there is no shortage of festival opera to be enjoyed, as FRANCIS MUZZU reports
Prima Donnas and Picnics
Summer Opera around the UK
Britain’s regular companies take a little time off over July and August, but there is no shortage of festival opera to be enjoyed, as Francis Muzzu reports
There’s a plethora of summer opera across an intriguing range of venues around the UK. So whether you’re a devotee looking for novelty or a novice dipping a toe, whether you’re doing the Season in style or just want some summer fun, there’s something operatic out there for you.
The big stuff
Two big festivals dominate the summer due to their diversity and wealth of offerings: the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival – and both offer opera as part of their 2008 programme. Edinburgh has been running since 1947 and this year offers more in the way of rarity than mainstream. You can see Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (August 8), or maybe experience the force that is the conductor Valery Gergiev, on one of his many trips to the UK with his Mariinsky Singers and Orchestra in a concert double bill of Prokofiev’s Semyon Kotko and Rakhmaninov’s Aleko (August 24). Or for a gargantuan feast, how about Gergiev conducting Szymanowki’s sensuous and mystical King Roger (August 25 &27), a large-scale work that will really put the performers through their paces.
If operatic size is everything, then head south for the BBC Proms and grab the chance to see Messiaen’s massive St François d’Assise, performed by the Netherlands Opera (September 7) – but be warned, you’ll have to invest over four hours to experience the composer’s magical sound world. If you’re looking for quicker thrills, then try Puccini’s Il Tabarro (August 11), a one-act Paris-set shocker with a stellar cast led by Italian soprano Barbara Frittoli and the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. And of course, for excitement you can’t beat the traditional Last Night (Sep 13), which stars Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel this year, though you probably need to start queuing now at the Albert Hall if you want to get in. Happily, a larger crowd can experience all the Last Night fun over in Hyde Park, where legendary tenor José Carreras heads the Proms in the Park bill alongside popular songstress Lesley Garrett. It will be flag-waving and tears all round. If such overt emotionalism isn’t really your thing, then Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (July 31) might appeal, with rising young cult stars Alice Coote and Danielle de Niese as Nero and Poppaea in a semi-staged performance from the Glyndebourne Festival.
Country matters
Talking of which, Glyndebourne’s where you really want to head if you fancy putting on the Ritz, getting the family jewels out of the safe and popping open the Krug. The private Sussex opera house is now run by the third generation…
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