Soaring straight into our hearts

By Charlotte Valori, 11 September 2014

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Sadler's Wells: Peacock Theatre, London on 8 September 2014

Dove, The Little Green Swallow

British Youth Opera

Lionel Friend, Conductor

Stuart Barker, Director

Simon Bejer, Set Designer

Filipa van Eck, Barbarina

Hazel McBain, Singing Apple 1

Llio Evans, Singing Apple 2

Elizabeth Karani, Tartagliona

Emma Kerr, Ninetta

Eirlys Myfanwy Davies, Pompea

Katie Coventry, Singing Apple 3

Rozanna Madylus, Smeraldina

Dominick Felix, Brighella

Adam Temple-Smith, Renzo

Ed Ballard, Truffaldino

Matthew Buswell, Calmon

Joseph Padfield, King Tartaglia

Tom Verney, L'Augellino

The Enchanted Island a rich and strange Baroque confection

John Johnston, 5th September

Rather than compiling a Top Ten of Baroque Hits, The Enchanted Island amounts to much more than a gallimaufry of choice gobbets, seasoned with French galenterie.

****1

Impressive Rake’s Progress from British Youth Opera

David Truslove, 4th September

Fine performances from a confident cast brought some terrific singing as well as depth of characterisation in Stravinsky’s only full-length opera.

****1

Eccentric circles: a youthful take from BYO

Matthew Rye, 7th September

British Youth Opera revives a forgotten operatic entertainment from the 1960s with flair and professionalism.

****1

Fall in love all over again: Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage with British Youth Opera

Charlotte Valori, 11th September

The Secret Marriage has been a hit from its earliest days. At its 1792 première in Vienna, King Leopold II was so delighted by the performance that he ordered the whole company to repair to his mansion, be treated to a magnificent dinner, “and then play the entire opera through again, immediately”.

****1

British Youth Opera takes on a New World in Britten's Paul Bunyan

Jaime Robles, 7th September

Wit is the ruling spirit of British Youth Opera’s delectable production of Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden’s operetta Paul Bunyan, directed by Will Kerley.

***11

British Youth Opera 25th anniversary season: A Night at the Chinese Opera

Paul Kilbey, 12th September

British Youth Opera have been fostering the best of young British vocal talent for 25 years, and it’s a delight to see them celebrating their anniversary this year with a work precisely as old as they are: Judith Weir’s A Night at the Chinese Opera dates from 1987, and made for a lively showcase for these rising stars at London’s Peacock Theatre last night.

***11

More reviews...

Charlotte Valori

Charlotte Valori read Classics at Christ Church, Oxford. As a classicist, her main interest is Greek tragedy and its reception by later cultures, which has led to a continuing passion for theatre and opera. Charlotte reviews for several online magazines, and won the Bachtrack Opera Award 2015 for Best Written English Review. Follow her on Twitter @operissima.

Soaring straight into our hearts: The Little Green Swallow at British Youth Opera