Welsh National Opera at Milton Keynes Theatre
2nd April 2009
I’ve got a choice here. I can either review one of the most embarrassingly slushy operas ever or I can do some revision.
There’s no contest really is there? Besides it’s the holidays, who revises in the holidays? It’s my last proper holidays for like a whole year anyway, more than that, I won’t get holidays when I’m having my year out will I? I thought it would be brilliant having a year out but it turns out I’ve got to get a job. I might do clarinet lessons or piano lessons or something or I might be an usher somewhere so I can see productions for free. (I told Hairy he should be an usher but he says he likes putting his babies to bed, like whatever.)
Anyway this was ages ago so I hope I can remember it. Simon Phillippo was the conductor, he made the music sound really fun. Wynne Evans sang really well as Nemorino, total class performer. Camilla Roberts sang better than I expected as Adina, she’s good at really serious lyrical stuff like Tchaikovsky but I wasn’t sure if she could manage Donizetti but after she’d warmed up a bit (which only took like 3 bars) she sounded really good. Megan Llewellyn Dorke was great too as Giannetta, brilliant name, good singer and she’s hot. Simon Thorpe was Belcore, he is a really great singer, I’ve heard him before but his voice sounded a bit strained this time but maybe he was putting on a funny voice or something.
I’m a bit confused about who was Dulcamara, I don’t remember any announcements about understudies but maybe I wasn’t listening but this guy posted on Hairy’s (p)review that Neal Davies was off sick. So as long as he was listening he’s probably right which means Donald Maxwell (or the great Scottish baritone as Hairy calls him unless he’s a bass-baritone, not sure tbh.) But anyway Dulcamara was good, really funny and even though he was obviously dodgy you could see how someone as desperate as Nemorino could fall for it as Dulcamara does seem like a really nice guy. And I suppose Hairy kind of did predict it in a way because he was all like this production would be better with more Scotsmen and then suddenly there’s this Scotsman in it.
But there was just something about the production that didn’t do it for me. I reckon it’s partly the characters, I did quite like Nemorino, total prat but good bloke. But Adina’s a bit of a bitch really, she’s a smug cow and she’s really mean to Nemorino and even though Belcore’s a total twat it wasn’t really right for her to lead him on like that. Adina needs something else about her so you can’t help liking her, it doesn’t have to be much, all Aleksandra Kurzak did at the ROH was jump around all over this haystack and almost let me see up her skirt, that was enough. Camilla Roberts isn’t minging or anything, she’s actually one of those girls who can dye her hair any colour she wants without looking stupid but it was like you never really thought Adina was an okay person really. Not many singers can do Adina though, it’s just one of those roles hardly anyone can get right.
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