Menotti's fiercely topical Consul at Guildhall

By John Johnston, 31 October 2017

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Michelle Alexander realised the role's dramatic intensity, pathos and proud defiance”

Reviewed at Guildhall School of Music & Drama: Silk Street Theatre, London on 30 October 2017

Menotti, The Consul

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Timothy Redmond, Conductor

Stephen Medcalf, Director

Simon Corder, Set Designer

Susannah Henry, Costume Designer

Michelle Alexander, Magda Sorel

Emily Kyte, Secretary

Chloe Latchmore, Mother

Jake Muffett, John Sorel

Christian Valle, Agent of the Secret Police

Eduardo Mas Bacardit, Magician Nika Magadoff

Bertie Watson, Mr Kofner

Claire Lees, Foreigner

Samantha Clarke, Anna Gomez

Georgia Mae Bishop, Vera Boronel

Seán Boylan, Assan

Guildhall Symphony Orchestra

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

Sacred and profane in Guildhall School's Respighi double bill

Susannah Moody, 6th November

From the spiritual conversion of a Medieval sex-worker, to the Sleeping Beauty tale reimagined, Guildhall stages a Respighi double-bill.

***11

Holst and Weir operas from the Guildhall School of Music

David Truslove, 5th June

Two accomplished performances bring emotional depth only intermittently, but show ample security of singing and playing.

***11

Dead Man Walking given a triumphant staging by Guildhall School

Mark Valencia, 27th February

Under Dominic Wheeler’s expert baton the musicians, all youthful if not downright young, give a spectacular account of a harrowing score.

****1

Picture perfect: a fine triple bill from the Guildhall School

Dominic Lowe, 11th November

Massenet, Smyth and Rota are unlikely bedfellows, but in the Guildhall School's Autumn production, a one-act opera by each contributed to a most convincing triple bill, all set around the La Scala Picturehouse in the 1920s.

****1

Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon outshines Bizet at Guildhall School

David Karlin, 1st November

A double bill of French operettas shows Guildhall students to advantage as well as providing an introduction to Viardot that's well worth the trip.

***11

More reviews...

John Johnston

John Johnston was a contributor to Bachtrack 2017-19. John was a true gentleman and lifelong opera "nut" who frequently travelled across Europe to catch performances, making regular pilgrimages to the Bayreuth Festival among others. His supreme knowledge and appreciation of voices meant he took to reviewing like the proverbial duck to water. We enjoyed his style and his insatiable appetite for catching rare operas and new productions wherever he could.

Menotti's fiercely topical The Consul delivers an emotional protest at Guildhall School