Ben Mcateer News
Last update
2024-03-28
Refresh
2023-10-06 11:51:00
The flower fairies are back: Cal McCrystal's production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe for ENO fills the London Coliseum with colour, movement & comedy
Gilbert & Sullivan: Iolanthe - English National Opera (Photo: Craig Fuller)Gilbert & Sullivan: Iolanthe; Samantha Price, John Savournin, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Elli Laugharne, Marcus Farnsworth, Keel Watson, director Cal McCrystal, conductor Chris Hopkins; English National Opera at the London ColiseumReviewed 5 October 2023A sparkling revival of Cal McCrystal's first G&S at ENO proves engaging fun with strong musical performances, physical comedy and a sense of the sheer absurdity of the world Gilbert createdThe flower fairies flitted back to the London Coliseum as Cal McCrystal's 2018 production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe for English National Opera returned with many of the original cast (seen 5 October 2023). Chris Hopkins conducted with Samantha Price as Iolanthe, John Savournin as the Lord Chancellor, Catherine Wyn-Rogers as the Queen of the Fairies, Ellie Laugharne as Phyllis, Marcus Farnsworth as Strephon, Ruairi Bowen as Earl Tolloller, Ben Mcateer as the Earl of Mountararat, Llio Evans as Celia, […]
2022-08-09 08:27:00
Reviews of the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company at Buxton
Emily Vine (Mabel) and chorus in the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company'sproduction of The Pirates Of Penzance at Buxton Opera House 2022The Pirates of PenzanceThe Gilbert & Sullivan Festival is back at Buxton – hurrah! A full week of performances at the Opera House there precedes two weeks of continued festival in Harrogate, so there’s the best of both worlds for G&S lovers. The shows diary is very much the same as it used to be in the days when Buxton had the festival to itself: a different title almost every day, with the festival’s own National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company leading the way (they’re also doing Iolanthe and Utopia Ltd, a relative rarity), plus the pick of the crop of other specialists in the Savoyard repertoire – this week that’s The Gondoliers (Forbear! Theatre), The Mikado (Peak Opera), HMS Pinafore (Opera della Luna), and Charles Court Opera with […]
2022-03-31 18:07:17
You could not help but be won over: Scottish Opera's new Gilbert and Sullivan production parks its gondola at the Hackney Empire
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Gondoliers - Dan Shelvey, Catriona Hewitson, Yvonne Howard and Richard Suart - Scottish Opera (Photo James Glossop. Gilbert & Sullivan The Gondoliers; Richard Suart, Yvonne Howard, Ben Mcateer, William Morgan, Mark Nathan, Charlie Drummond, Sioned Gwen Davies, Catriona Hewitson, Dan Shelvey, dir: Stuart Maunder, cond: Derek Clark; Scottish Opera at the Hackney Empire Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 30 March 2022 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★) Charm & delight to the fore with a largely youthful cast for Scottish Opera's visit to LondonScottish Opera is currently making a welcome visit to London, performing two operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan (one popular, the other rare). We caught Scottish Opera in Stuart Maunder's production Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers at the Hackney Empire on 30 March 2022. Derek Clark conducted with Richard Suart and Yvonne Howard as the Duke and Duchess of Plaza Toro, Ben Mcateer […]
2022-03-26 09:34:34
From Melissa to Musetta: I chat to Irish soprano Anna Devin about the joy of singing with Irish National Opera, returning to Puccini, having a Donizetti moment and her love of Baroque opera
Puccini: La Boheme - Anne Devin - Irish National Opera (Photo Ros Kavanagh) The Irish soprano Anna Devin has made something of a name for herself in recent years singing roles in Handel opera, and last Summer garnered plaudits for her Melissa in Handel's Amadigi di Gaula at Garsington Opera. And whilst there have always been other composers, other eras in her repertoire, this year is going to show us Anna in more romantic repertoire. This month Irish National Opera's (INO) new recording of Puccini's La Boheme came out Signum Classics featuring Anna as Musetta, and then in June she returns to INO to perform Elisabetta in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda with further Donizetti to come. I recently met up with Anna by Zoom to chat about the challenge new roles as well as her continuing passion for the Baroque repertoire. In fact, Anna has sung Musetta before or rather extracts […]
or
- timeline: Lyrical singers.
- Indexes (by alphabetical order): M...