Paradise reduced: New Sussex Opera's Delius

By Matthew Rye, 28 March 2017

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Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 28 March 2017

Delius, A Village Romeo and Juliet

New Sussex Opera

Lee Reynolds, Conductor

Susannah Waters, Director

Anna Driftmier, Set Designer

Kirsty Taylor-Stokes, Vreli (adult)

Luke Sinclair, Sali (adult)

Ian Beadle, The Dark Fiddler

Robert Gildon, Manz

Geoffrey Moses, Marti

New Sussex Opera Chorus

Kantanti Ensemble

A rare outing for Stanford's Travelling Companion

John Johnston, 30th November

Charles Villiers Stanford's The Travelling Companion is performed at Cadogan Hall by New Sussex Opera.

****1

Sickly sweet: Ambroise Thomas' Mignon

Charlotte Valori, 24th November

Fine soprano performances from Ruth Jenkins-Róbertsson and Victoria Simmonds can't save Ambroise Thomas's inanimate object of a plot. Thank goodness Wagner saved us from more of the same.

**111

Add a pinch of fairy dust: Weber's Oberon

Charlotte Valori, 25th November

New Sussex Opera's warm-hearted community production of Oberon took on Weber's sprawlingly chaotic final opera - and won.

***11

The triumph of virtue: Rossini’s Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini’s most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Grigolo shines in a mixed new Roméo et Juliette at the Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 28th April

With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera.

***11

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

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Matthew Rye

Matthew read music at Oxford and worked in music journalism for 30 years as a writer, critic and editor. He wrote numerous programme and CD booklet notes, spent 13 years as a Daily Telegraph critic, worked at BBC Music Magazine and was reviews editor of The Strad. He also wrote for The Wagner Journal and Opera and blogged at ferneklang.blogspot.co.uk. He was general editor of 1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die (Cassell Illustrated, 2007) and was the author of a new series of eBooks, Masterpieces of Music (Erudition).

Paradise reduced: pared-down Delius from New Sussex Opera