Tavener's Krishna fails to convince in world premiere

Brett Polegato (Krishna)

Eliran Kadussi (Krishna as adolescent)

Krishna at Grange Park Opera

Nazan Fikret (Rukmini) and Julia Sitkovetsky (Radha as woman)

By Nick Boston, 05 June 2026

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“has Tavener’s memory has been ultimately serviced by staging this fundamentally flawed piece”

Reviewed at The Theatre in the Woods, West Horsley on 4 June 2026

Tavener, Krishna

Grange Park Opera

Mark Shanahan, Conductor

Sir David Pountney, Director

Rachana Jadhav, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Tim Mitchell, Lighting Designer

The Gascoigne Orchestra

Grange Park Opera Chorus

Ross Ramgobin, Celestial Narrator

Sara Fulgoni, Bhumi, Yashodi

Rosa Sparks, Krishna as a child

Eliran Kadussi, Krishna as an adolescent

Elgan Llŷr Thomas, Krishna as a young man

Brett Polegato, Krishna as a man

Julia Sitkovetsky, Radha

Nazan Fikret, Rukmini

Jennifer Statham, Mezzo-soprano

Taj Mahal by Nishat Khan premieres at Grange Park Opera

David Karlin, 10th July

Scion of generations of sitar players, Nishat Khan is the perfect person to tell the "greatest love story never told" behind India's most iconic building.

***11

Ukraine matters: Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa at Grange Park Opera

Roy Westbrook, 14th June

Why is Tchaikovsky’s very fine opera still a rarity outside Russia? David Pountney directs a new production at the Surrey festival.

****1

Pountney’s vivid Simon Boccanegra at Grange Park Opera

Mark Pullinger, 5th June

Sir David Pountney's 1997 staging for Welsh National Opera is given a welcome new lease of life at Grange Park Opera, splendidly cast... with one major exception.

****1

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Nick Boston, 11th July

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***11

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David Karlin, 27th June

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****1

Aleko on the Arno: Bryn Terfel leads fine new GPO double bill

Roy Westbrook, 6th June

An unlikely pairing opens Grange Park Opera's season, the two works united by the dominant central character of each opera – Sir Bryn Terfel.

****1

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Nick Boston

Nick has an MA in Music, specialising in performance and repertoire. His particular passions are choral music, chamber music and opera, with a particular interest in early music. He sings in a number of choirs in the south east of England, plays the piano and occasionally dusts off the violin. He writes about music here.

Tavener's Krishna fails to convince in world premiere at Grange Park Opera