Welsh National Opera on tour: a musically powerful Madama Butterfly

By Mark Valencia, 29 October 2021

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“Joyce El-Khoury, an artist at the peak of her powers”

Reviewed at Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol on 26 October 2021

Puccini, Madama Butterfly

Welsh National Opera

Carlo Rizzi, Conductor

Lindy Hume, Director

Isabella Bywater, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Elanor Higgins, Lighting Designer

Joyce El-Khoury, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly)

Leonardo Caimi, Pinkerton

Mark Stone, Sharpless

Kezia Bienek, Suzuki

Keel Watson, The Bonze

Neil Balfour, Prince Yamadori

Tom Randle, Goro

Sian Meinir, Kate Pinkerton

Julian Boyce, The Imperial Commissioner

Jack O'Kelly, The Official Registrar

George Newton-Fitzgerald, Yakuside

Monika Sawa, Cio-Cio-san's mother

Carolyn Jackson, The aunt

Meriel Andrew, The cousin

Welsh National Opera Chorus

Welsh National Opera Orchestra

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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Mark Valencia

Mark has worked in arts journalism for four decades, both as a writer and as a French-English translator. Nowadays he focuses his energies on reviewing opera and music. Mark also writes for Opera magazine and for Musical America as a correspondent for Europe and the UK.