A confusing operatic take on The Tempest at Grange Park Opera

Brett Polegato (Prospero)

Richard Suart (Stephano) and Andreas Jankowitsch (Caliban)

Hugh Cutting (Ariel) and Brett Polegato (Prospero)

Ffion Edwards (Miranda) and Luis Gomes (Ferdinand)

By Nick Boston, 12 July 2024

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“delivered with power and impressive energy by Brett Polegato”

Reviewed at The Theatre in the Woods, West Horsley on 11 July 2024

Bolton, Island of Dreams

Grange Park Opera

George Jackson, Conductor

Sir David Pountney, Director

The Gascoigne Orchestra

Grange Park Opera Chorus

Brett Polegato, Prospero

Ffion Edwards, Miranda

Hugh Cutting, Ariel

Andreas Jankowitsch, Caliban

William Dazeley, Alonso

Luis Gomes, Ferdinand

Henry Grant Kerswell, Sebastian

Philip Clieve, Antonio

Harry Nicoll, Gonzalo

Adrian Thompson, Trinculo

Richard Suart, Stephano

Taj Mahal by Nishat Khan premieres at Grange Park Opera

David Karlin, 10th July

Scion of generations of sitar players, Nishat Khan is the perfect person to tell the "greatest love story never told" behind India's most iconic building.

***11

Ukraine matters: Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa at Grange Park Opera

Roy Westbrook, 14th June

Why is Tchaikovsky’s very fine opera still a rarity outside Russia? David Pountney directs a new production at the Surrey festival.

****1

Pountney’s vivid Simon Boccanegra at Grange Park Opera

Mark Pullinger, 5th June

Sir David Pountney's 1997 staging for Welsh National Opera is given a welcome new lease of life at Grange Park Opera, splendidly cast... with one major exception.

****1

An impressive, minimalist Kátya Kabanová at Grange Park Opera

David Karlin, 27th June

A memorable performance, with Stephen Barlow conducting Janáček’s remarkable score with vividness and clarity, while David Alden's staging is a masterpiece of "less is more".

****1

Aleko on the Arno: Bryn Terfel leads fine new GPO double bill

Roy Westbrook, 6th June

An unlikely pairing opens Grange Park Opera's season, the two works united by the dominant central character of each opera – Sir Bryn Terfel.

****1

Werther in the woods: an intense new production at Grange Park Opera

David Truslove, 17th June

John Doyle's emotional staging of Werther gets to the heart of Massenet's engagement with Goethe in memorable performances.

****1

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Nick Boston

Nick has an MA in Music, specialising in performance and repertoire. His particular passions are choral music, chamber music and opera, with a particular interest in early music. He sings in a number of choirs in the south east of England, plays the piano and occasionally dusts off the violin. He writes about music here.

Impressive visuals and performances lift a confusing operatic take on The Tempest