Into the lion's mouth: Ponchielli's La Gioconda at Grange Park Opera

David Stout (Barnaba)

Joseph Calleja (Enzo) and Amanda Echalaz (Gioconda)

Ruxandra Donose (Laura) and Amanda Echalaz (Gioconda)

The Dance of the Hours

David Stout (Barnaba) and Marco Spotti (Alvise)

Ruxandra Donose (Laura)

Grange Park Opera Chorus

By Mark Pullinger, 12 June 2022

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“Amanda Echalaz has exactly the right sort of soprano for the title role, a vibrant, punchy sound”

Reviewed at The Theatre in the Woods, West Horsley on 11 June 2022

Ponchielli, La Gioconda

Grange Park Opera

Stephen Barlow, Conductor

Stephen Medcalf, Director

Francis O'Connor, Set Designer

Oliver Fenwick, Lighting Designer

The Gascoigne Orchestra

Grange Park Opera Chorus

Tim Mitchell, Lighting Designer

Amanda Echalaz, La Gioconda

Joseph Calleja, Enzo Grimaldo

David Stout, Barnaba

Marco Spotti, Alvise Badoero

Ruxandra Donose, Laura Adorno

Elisabetta Fiorillo, La Cieca

Toki Hamano, Zuàne

James Schouten, Isèpo

Sarah Fahie, Choreography

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

A confusing operatic take on The Tempest at Grange Park Opera

Nick Boston, 11th July

Strong vocal and orchestral performances, supported by impressive visuals, struggle to bring coherency to Anthony Bolton's Island of Dreams at Grange Park Opera.

***11

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

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.