A wonderful show: Welsh National Opera's Kiss me, Kate

By Simon Rees, 01 October 2016

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“Jeni Bern as Lilli/Katherine commands the entire show as a noisy, loud-mouthed shrew”

Reviewed at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff on 29 September 2016

Porter, Kiss me, Kate

Welsh National Opera

James Holmes, Conductor

Jo Davies, Director

Colin Richmond, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Jeni Bern, Lilli Vanessi / Katharine

Quirijn de Lang, Fred Graham / Petruchio

Joseph Shovelton, Gunman 1

John Savournin, Gunman 2

Alan Burkitt, Bill Calhoun / Lucentio

Morgan Deare, Harry Trevor / Baptista

Amelia Adams-Pearce, Lois Lane / Bianca

Landi Oshinowo, Hattie

Welsh National Opera Chorus

Welsh National Opera Orchestra

Will Tuckett, Choreography

A magnificent Tosca from Welsh National Opera at the Mayflower

David Truslove, 3rd October

WNO imports Edward Dick’s exceptionally fine production, which benefits from from superb casting and outstanding performances led by Natalya Romaniw.

*****

Bancroft and BBCNOW at the Proms: a deeply satisfying Mahler 3

David Karlin, 11th August

Bancroft and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales provide a Mahler 3 of exceptional clarity and forward momentum, with terrific posthorn solos from Corey Morris and Beth Taylor an outstanding soloist.

****1

A dark and disturbing Rigoletto from WNO at the Mayflower

David Truslove, 14th November

Fine performances in a punchy new production that coats this tragic opera in a large dollop of debauchery.

****1

WNO stages Death in Venice for the first time and it’s a triumph

Mark Valencia, 7th March

Olivia Fuchs solves the problems of Britten's thorny opera in a brilliant new production that hits the heights, featuring Mark Le Brocq as earthbound scholar, Gustav von Aschenbach.

*****

Musical performances keep WNO's new Così afloat

Mark Valencia, 6th March

Max Hoehn takes Così‘s subtitle, La scuola degli amanti (The School for Lovers), and connects it to Monty Python’s sex education sketch in The Meaning of Life. What larks, eh?

***11

Stacey Alleaume leads WNO's emotionally-charged Traviata

David Truslove, 24th November

Leading an international cast in a still-sumptuous revival in Southampton's Mayflower, Stacey Alleaume gives a sovereign performance as the ill-fated courtesan Violetta.

****1

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Simon Rees

Simon Rees writes programme articles and surtitles for most British opera companies, and reviews for Opera, Opera Now, Musical Opinion, Early Music Today and a wide range of other publications. A novelist, poet and librettist, from 1989 to 2012 he was dramaturg at Welsh National Opera. He lives in Cardiff.