Garsington Understudy Showcase line up!
I had slightly shortened week as a result of a stupid minor accident that landed me in hospital for two nights! I am just fine now so do not worry. But it ,meant that I missed the opening of Garsington's Turn of the Screw on Monday evening but returned to duty on Tuesday for a most enjoyable showcase of the season's understudies at the RADA studios on Tuesday.
The Garsington Alvarez Young Artists' Programme gives many of its members the opportunity to understudy main stage roles. And inevitably each season one or more of them my have the experience of standing in at the last minute. In recent seasons the Alice Ford and Pamina have distinguished themselves by stepping in, and this year the Jenik was indisposed for two performances and his understudy scored a huge success. One opera each year is given a performance with the understudy last - this year it will be Fantasio next Wednesday.
So this is serious stuff! And it was a huge pleasure to see the emerging talent on Tuesday evening delivering twenty minute excerpts from each of the four operas in the season's repertoire. With Seán Boylan in the title role Don Giovanni got the evening off to a flying start, we then changed gear to Britten with an impressive Prologue from Robert Forrest and an imposing Governess from Nardus Williams. I will write more about Fantasio after I see the full show on Wednesday - but it looks and sounds very good indeed for this OperaFirst performance.
The evening ended with the popular hit of the Garsington season, the Bartered Bride. Those of us not having been able to see an actual performance by the Jenik Oliver Johnston has to be satisfied with what was on offer - he is a formidable talent. Another excellent tenor Alexander Aldren was a splendid dead pan Vasek. In a world so short of tenors this quartet on display on Tuesday was indeed impressive!
© Johan Persson
Sophie Bevan(Governess), Leo Jemison (Miles), Ed Lyon (Peter Quint) in Garsington's Turn of the Screw
I got to the second performance of the Turn of the Screw on Thursday - so much has been written about this extraordinary evening in the press, with all those 5 star reviews, that I am not going to go on about it! The company is hugely proud of this production so meticulously prepared in every detail. A sample review can be seen here - but they all say very much the same thing!
© Richard Hubert Smith
Danielle de Niese in the title tole of Cendrillon at Glyndebourne
It was good to get down to Sussex again last night for Cendrillon, exceptionally well conducted and played by John Wilson and the LPO. And there was a splendid trio of ladies with the always enchanting Danielle de Niese, Kate Lindsey as her Prince Charming and a remarkable Fairy Godmother from the Armenian Nina Minasyan. She sure is something and well on the way to top career. This was impeccable!
I am punishing myself this evening by watching the livestream from Villach of the finals of the Belvedere competition. They have 15 finalists so I guess it will be just one aria each..........will be a long evening nevertheless! This competition has been going for 37 years. I was on the jury back in 1983 - the second year of the competition. This year they have 15 jurors - what a handful to wrangle!!
I'll give my verdict later - but it will have no effect!!
Working for Scottish Opera in the 1970s I saw many performances of the superb Besch/Stoddart production with lighting by that great painter with lights, Charles Bristow, and the wonderful Catherine Wilson as the Governess. i could not believe any could better it. But having read several reviews of Garsington, I do wish I could have the opportunity of seeing it. Hopefully it will appear elsewhere in time.
Posted by: John Duffus | July 09, 2019 at 03:36 PM
well yes but Sophie Bevan was extraordinary.......
Posted by: Brian Dickie | July 09, 2019 at 03:58 PM
I have absolutely no doubt that is the case. Another reason for wishing I could see the production.
Posted by: John Duffus | July 10, 2019 at 04:32 AM