Fall in love all over again: Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage with British Youth Opera

By Charlotte Valori, 12 September 2013

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Reviewed at Sadler's Wells: Peacock Theatre, London on 11 September 2013

Cimarosa, Il matrimonio segreto (The Secret Marriage)

British Youth Opera

Southbank Sinfonia

Roy Laughlin, Conductor

Martin Lloyd-Evans, Director

Alice Privett, Soprano

Rosalind Coad, Soprano

Heather Lowe, Mezzo-soprano

Nick Pritchard, Tenor

Bradley Travis, Bass-baritone

Frazer Scott, Bass-baritone

The Enchanted Island a rich and strange Baroque confection

John Johnston, 5th September

Rather than compiling a Top Ten of Baroque Hits, The Enchanted Island amounts to much more than a gallimaufry of choice gobbets, seasoned with French galenterie.

****1

Impressive Rake’s Progress from British Youth Opera

David Truslove, 4th September

Fine performances from a confident cast brought some terrific singing as well as depth of characterisation in Stravinsky’s only full-length opera.

****1

Eccentric circles: a youthful take from BYO

Matthew Rye, 7th September

British Youth Opera revives a forgotten operatic entertainment from the 1960s with flair and professionalism.

****1

Soaring straight into our hearts

Charlotte Valori, 8th September

Jonathan Dove's joyous old-fashioned fairytale, magically realised in a very stylish production including some wonderfully original puppetry, is a fabulous talent showcase from British Youth Opera - and fun for all the family.

****1

British Youth Opera takes on a New World in Britten's Paul Bunyan

Jaime Robles, 7th September

Wit is the ruling spirit of British Youth Opera’s delectable production of Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden’s operetta Paul Bunyan, directed by Will Kerley.

***11

British Youth Opera 25th anniversary season: A Night at the Chinese Opera

Paul Kilbey, 12th September

British Youth Opera have been fostering the best of young British vocal talent for 25 years, and it’s a delight to see them celebrating their anniversary this year with a work precisely as old as they are: Judith Weir’s A Night at the Chinese Opera dates from 1987, and made for a lively showcase for these rising stars at London’s Peacock Theatre last night.

***11

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Charlotte Valori

Charlotte Valori read Classics at Christ Church, Oxford. As a classicist, her main interest is Greek tragedy and its reception by later cultures, which has led to a continuing passion for theatre and opera. Charlotte reviews for several online magazines, and won the Bachtrack Opera Award 2015 for Best Written English Review. Follow her on Twitter @operissima.