Sins of the fathers: Le Cid at Dorset Opera Festival

By Dominic Lowe, 28 July 2018

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“Capalbo has a bold, ringing tenor and bristles with energy”

Reviewed at Coade Theatre, Bryanston, Blandford Forum on 26 July 2018

Massenet, Le Cid

Dorset Opera

Jeremy Carnall, Conductor

Christopher Cowell, Director

Leonardo Capalbo, Rodrigue

Lee Bisset, Chimène

Paul Gay, Don Diègue

Phillip Rhodes, Le Roi

Charles Johnston, Le comte de Gormas

Simone Ricksman, L'Infante

Ross Ramgobin, Saint Jacques, L'envoyé maure

Marc Rosette, Lighting Designer

Dorset Opera Chorus

Dorset Opera Orchestra

A girl next door: La bohème at Dorset Opera Festival

Dominic Lowe, 25th July

It's not easy to imagine a freezing Parisian attic when you're in the middle of the rolling Dorset countryside in a baking summer, but Dorset Opera's excellent production of Puccini's La bohème is atmospheric enough to do so.

****1

Dorset Opera deals with the devil in Gounod's Faust

Dominic Lowe, 26th July

Dorset Opera's second opera of their season saw a fiendishly good performance from Mark S Doss as Méphistophélès supported by a strong cast in Christopher Cowell's economical production.

****1

Threesome? Sheep? Le Comte Ory at Dorset Opera

Dominic Lowe, 25th July

A simple, but funny production with a strong cast and an enthusiastic chorus brought Rossini's comedy to life.

****1

Plenty of toil but no trouble in Macbeth

Dominic Lowe, 27th July

Hot on the heels of its Eugene Onegin, full of potential marriages that never reach the altar, Dorset Opera put on an excellent production of an opera with a successful, slick and murderous power couple.

****1

Eugene Onegin at the Dorset Opera Festival

Dominic Lowe, 26th July

Deep in Dorset, Anna Patalong gives a powerful Tatyana, ably supported by a well-taught chorus in an English translation of Tchaikovsky's opera of hearts and friendships broken.

***11

Queen's dating dilemma: Handel's Partenope at Iford

Charlotte Valori, 4th July

Another masterful, sprightly and unstuffily fun production of Handel at Iford: Christopher Cowell's Partenope is erotically charged, well cast and comically compelling.

****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.