The latest visit to Milton Keynes by the Welsh National Opera features three very different productions promising "masks, monarchy and magic".
The series opened on Wednesday with Un Ballo In Maschera part of Verdi's famous trilogy which tells the gripping story of Sweden's King Gustav III followed by one of the most popular comedies, Mozart's The Magic Flute on Thursday and Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, a stylish and querky history of the British Royal Family. Finally on Saturday there's another chance to see The Magic Flute.
This is an exciting lineup of operas from WNO which has something for everyone.
Visionary staging, note perfect performances and of course a full orchestra which for The Magic Flute is conducted by Damian Iorio who is well known to audiences in Milton Keynes as the Music Director of our very own MK City Orchestra and is often seen conducting their performances.
Un Ballo In Maschera features strong performances from the talented trio of Welsh tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones as Riccardo, Mary Elizabeth Williams as Amelia and Roland Wood as Renato. It is billed as a world "where love, power and politics collide to create a tale of deception, intrigue and revenge".
The opera tells the tragic true story of the love triangle between Amelia, her husband Renato and his best friend, the King of Sweden.
The climax is a beautifully staged masked ball where the intrigue and deceit is played out on the dancefloor as his personal and political enemies conspire against the King, When Renato learns the truth, he takes matters into his own hands with devastating consequences. Expect a visual and auditory feast with some beautifully performed arias.
Thursday's performance of The Magic Flute was sublime with surreal staging featuring a claustrophobic set of ever repeating doorways and some surreal staging with henchmen in bowler hats appearing as disembodied heads, bicycle powered flying machines and a brilliant giant squid monster.
It was great to see families in the audience and this is certainly an opera which would keep older children entertained. Mozart's musical genius often blinds us to his talent at constructing compelling stories and writing some genuinely hilarious comedy and the cast really do it justice.
Special mention must go to Mark Stone who steals the show as bird-catcher Papageno in his feather-covered costume. He has superb comic timing and his performance is reminiscent of Noel Fielding. Alongside him is the story's hero Tamino, played by Ben Johnson who embarks on a quest to save the Queen of the Night (Anna Siminska)'s daughter Pamina (Anita Watson). They are armed with a magic flute and a set of magic bells and have to complete various tests set by Pamina's captor Sarastro and his Brotherhood of Isis (no, the Egyptian God).
Finally, Friday's performance of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux promises a spine-tingling thriller. Time is running out for Elizabeth l’s former lover Devereux, the Second Earl of Essex.
He is accused of treason and the victim of revenge, as the clock ticks ever faster towards his execution. The costumes have been designed by Vivienne Westwood and feature some very creative and off-beat styles. Fascinated by Elizabethan history, Donizetti in fact wrote three operas heavily featuring ‘the Virgin Queen’ and in all three the rumours of a fiery temper and love life are placed at the heart of the story.
Sung in Italian, the opera features Barry Banks as Devereux, alongside soprano Joyce El-Khoury as Elisabetta, both making role debuts. Also joining the cast are Justina Gringyté as Sara and Gary Griffiths as Nottingham.
There really is something for everyone in this sequence of operas and I would definitely recommend catching Saturday's second performance of The Magic Flute if you are able to.
Review: Chris Gregg
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