Monthly Archives: May 2009

Roberto Devereux, Holland Park Opera, June 2009

For opening night on June 2, Joan Sutherland was in the audience and when people began to recognise her shortly before the start of the second half, there was a warming round of applause.

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A View from the Bridge, Richmond Theatre, May 2009

Ken Stott was excellent as Eddie, well demonstrating his insecurity, his intensely narcissistic love for his niece Katie and growing disenchantment with his wife.

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Les Sylphides, Sensorium, The Firebird, Royal Ballet, 21 May 2009, return visit

The cast seemed very much in tune with [Sensorium], and Melissa Hamilton was simply wonderful. It’s astonishing that she’s a mere 21 years old.

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Burnt by the Sun, National Theatre, May 2009

Throughout the play there are sexual undertones.

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The Winslow Boy, Rose Theatre, Kingston-on-Thames, May 2009

This was a terrific performance of Terence Rattigan’s excellent play about a teenage boy wrongly accused of stealing at Naval College.

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Madame de Sade, in a Donmar production at Wyndham’s Theatre, May 2009

… while de Sade himself may have appealed to masochists, I did not realise you had to be a theatrical masochist to sit through this stuff.

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Peter Grimes, English National Opera, London Coliseum, May 2009

…what really drove Britten’s masterpiece home was Stuart Skelton [as Grimes], Felicity Palmer [as Mrs. Sedley], the chorus, and the conductor Edward Gardner.

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La Cenerentola, live relay from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, May 2009

While Elina Garanča as Cenerentola … was the star of the show, Alessandro Corbelli [as Don Magnifico] was superb with his perfect comic timing

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Romeo and Juliet, Globe Theatre, May 2009

As Romeo we had Adetomiwa Edun giving a passionate performance, and commanding the stage with his presence

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Les Sylphides, Sensorium, The Firebird, Royal Ballet, May 2009

… a lovely triple bill, with a new ballet by Alastair Marriott sandwiched between two well-known works

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