Mainly Opera and Ballet
Rossini’s Cenerentola is Cinderella with the wicked step-mother as a bumptious, arrogant step-father (Don Magnifico), and the fairy godmother as the prince’s tutor and master of philosophy (Alidoro). The libretto is based on Perrault’s fairy tale, but with all mythical and supernatural elements from the story eliminated, turning it into something of a household comedy. …
Nevill Holt has finally come of age with its new opera house, following Oliver Mears’ revelatoryTosca last year in the now-vanished temporary structure. Mears is now artistic director of Covent Garden, and Nevill Holt a substantial presence on the country house opera scene. The outside of the new 400-seat theatre exhibits a substantial, almost church-like presence …
This year’s Tosca at Nevill Holt produced by Oliver Mears, an intelligent director who clearly cares about the music, augurs well for his new appointment as artistic director of the Royal Opera. The setting, the troubled Italy of the 1970s when anti-establishment forces such as the Red Brigades were causing havoc, developed from an original …
