A stylish Così fan tutte at The Grange Festival

Samantha Clarke, Nicholas Lester (Guglielmo), Kitty Whately and Alessandro Fisher (Ferrando)

Kitty Whately (Dorabella) and Samantha Clarke (Fiordiligi)

Christian Senn (Don Alfonso)

By David Truslove, 19 June 2023

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Karabits drew crisp, characterful playing that illuminated Mozart’s felicitous woodwind writing”

Reviewed at The Grange, Alresford on 16 June 2023

Mozart, Così fan tutte

The Grange Festival

Kirill Karabits, Conductor

Martin Lloyd-Evans, Director

Dick Bird, Set Designer

Johanna Town, Lighting Designer

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Samantha Clarke, Fiordiligi

Kitty Whately, Dorabella

Alessandro Fisher, Ferrando

Nicholas Lester, Guglielmo

Christian Senn, Don Alfonso

Carolina Lippo, Despina

Die Fledermaus at The Grange: Cabaret meets G&S

David Karlin, 20th June

A fine singing cast gives creditable performances in Johann Stauss II's most famous operetta, but Paul Curran's updating of Act 2 to 1930s Berlin takes the fizz out of the Champagne.

***11

The Rake's Progress at The Grange: richly entertaining

David Karlin, 23rd June

Singing performances are excellent, the staging is well crafted and Stravinsky's eclectic score entertains from start to finish. But it's an evening's opera that doesn't touch the soul.

****1

L’incoronazione di Poppea vividly brought to life at the Grange

David Truslove, 7th June

Terrific music making with a light directorial touch brings mixed results to Monteverdi's 1643 masterpiece.

***11

Obsession at The Grange: The Queen of Spades

David Karlin, 23rd June

In a setting that might be The Grange itself, a production which steadily tightens its grip until a blistering finish.

*****

Tension accumulates in Handel’s Tamerlano at The Grange Festival

David Truslove, 10th June

Some exceptional singing intermittently enlivens Daniel Slater's production which, dramatically and emotionally, takes time to ignite.

***11

Kilts in the library: Macbeth opens The Grange Festival

Dominic Lowe, 9th June

Murder in the library? No, this isn't a re-run of Poirot, but a new production of Verdi's Macbeth to open The Grange Festival's 2022 season.

***11

More reviews...

David Truslove

After many years as a musician – conducting choirs, singing as a lay clerk at Winchester Cathedral and an involvement in education, David now writes programme notes, occasionally composes and enjoys a busy schedule of reviewing.