Britten's cinderella opera? Owen Wingrave from Grange Park Opera

By Mark Valencia, 10 December 2020

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“Unlike the peaceful Owen, Stephen Medcalf’s production packs a punch”

Reviewed at The Theatre in the Woods, West Horsley on 9 December 2020

Britten, Owen Wingrave

Grange Park Opera

James Henshaw, Conductor

Stephen Medcalf, Director

Richard Berkeley-Steele, General Sir Philip Wingrave

Ross Ramgobin, Owen Wingrave

Susan Bullock, Miss Wingrave, Owen's Aunt

Janis Kelly, Mrs Coyle

Madeleine Pierard, Mrs Julian

Kitty Whately, Kate Julian

James Way, Lechmere

William Dazeley, Spencer Coyle

Tom Marshall, Sound

Chris Hopkins, Piano

Craig Apps, Percussion

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

A confusing operatic take on The Tempest at Grange Park Opera

Nick Boston, 11th July

Strong vocal and orchestral performances, supported by impressive visuals, struggle to bring coherency to Anthony Bolton's Island of Dreams at Grange Park Opera.

***11

An impressive, minimalist Kátya Kabanová at Grange Park Opera

David Karlin, 27th June

A memorable performance, with Stephen Barlow conducting Janáček’s remarkable score with vividness and clarity, while David Alden's staging is a masterpiece of "less is more".

****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

More reviews...

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.

Britten's cinderella opera? A new Owen Wingrave from Grange Park Opera