Candy and Communism: Hänsel und Gretel at the Royal College of Music

By Dominic Lowe, 16 March 2022

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“an excellent cast of young singers who provided a committed performance throughout”

Reviewed at Royal College of Music: Britten Theatre, London on 14 March 2022

Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel

RCM Opera Studio

Michael Rosewell, Conductor

Stephen Barlow, Director

Yannis Thavoris, Set Designer

Rory Beaton, Lighting Designer

Emma Roberts, Hänsel

Sofie Lund-Tonnesen, Gretel

Lylis O'Hara, Gertrude / Mother

Theo Perry, Peter / Father

Michael Bell, Witch

Sofia Kirwan-Baez, Sandman

Clara Barbier Serrano, Dew Fairy

Hedging its bets: La finta giardiniera at the Royal College of Music

Dominic Lowe, 16th March

Mozart's teenage comedy is more complicated then Figaro but is easy on the ear, with many opportunities for a young cast to shine.

***11

The other Don Giovanni: Gazzaniga's take on the legendary lothario

Dominic Lowe, 20th November

It premiered in the same year as Mozart's opera, but Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni is virtually unknown. Despite the best efforts of an energetic student cast it doesn't come close to hitting the heights that Mozart and Da Ponte reached.

***11

Nightmares dressed as daydreams: Respighi and Ravel at the RCM

Dominic Lowe, 13th March

An opportunity to hear one of Respighi's operas in the UK is a real treat; the composer's take on Sleeping Beauty, La bella dormente nel bosco, is an ideal companion to to Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortilèges in a terrific double bill at the Royal College of Music.

****1

Tuneful desert island fun: Robinson Crusoe at the RCM

David Karlin, 13th March

A delicious evening which showed off its young talent to best advantage and made us want more Offenbach.

****1

Hedging its bets: La finta giardiniera at the Royal College of Music

Dominic Lowe, 16th March

Mozart's teenage comedy is more complicated then Figaro but is easy on the ear, with many opportunities for a young cast to shine.

***11

Respighi’s Lucrezia compels in Guildhall School’s double bill

Dominic Lowe, 3rd November

Pleas for more Respighi operas are answered as the students of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama give the UK premiere of Lucrezia, paired with Ethel Smyth's Der Wald.

****1

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Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.