Roland Cunningham News
Australian-born British singer and actor
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- opera singer
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2024-04-24
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2023-09-22 06:31:00
A terrific sense of relish: Charles Court Opera's new version of The Mikado delights at the Arcola Theatre
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado - Charles Court Opera (Photo: Bill Knight)Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado; Matthew Palmer, Robin Bailey, Matthew Kellett, Matthew Siveter, Alys Roberts, Meriel Cunningham, Jennifer Clark, Amy J Payne, director: John Savournin, musical director: David Eaton; Charles Court Opera at the Arcola TheatreReviewed 20 September 2023Gilbert & Sullivan's classic delivered with consummate skill and artistry, great pacing and a terrific sense of relish, in a new setting bringing out the innate Englishness of the workFor an operetta, The Mikado is quite a complex, multi-layered piece and part of the work's endurance comes from the fact that all the pieces fit. There is no sense, as there can be with The Gondoliers, of two different works playing simultaneously. At the core of The Mikado is Gilbert's usual topsy-turvey-dom, here a condemned criminal placed as Lord High Executioner to foil the the Mikado's cruel edict, and the Mikado's son […]
2022-09-18 10:25:00
Royal Opera HouseNarraboth – Thomas Atkins Page of Herodias – Annika Schlicht First Soldier – Simon Shibambu Second Soldier – Simon Wilding Jokanaan – Jordan Shanahan Cappadocian – John Cunningham Salome – Elena Stikhina Slave – Sarah Dufresne Herod – John Daszak Herodias – Katarina Dalayman First Jew – Paul Curievici Second Jew – Michael J. Scott Third Jew – Aled Hall Fourth Jew – Alasdair Elliott Fifth Jew – Jeremy White First Nazarene – James Platt Second Nazarene – Chuma Sijeqa Naaman – Duncan MeadowsDavid McVicar (director) Bárbara Lluch (revival director) Es Devlin (designs) Wolfgang Göbbel (lighting) Andrew George (choreography, movement) Emily Piercy (revival choreography) 59 Productions (video) Orchestra of the Royal Opera HouseAlexander Soddy (conductor) This was a Salome best remembered for its singing, at least once beyond the absurdity of prefacing it with ‘God save the King’. (The production might have been adapted, I suppose, […]
2022-08-09 08:27:00
Reviews of the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company at Buxton
[…] around of the old D’Oyly Carte routines (in “If you go in, you’re sure to win”, for instance – which got its equally traditional encore). The music was again in the expert hands of John Andrews, with the National Festival Orchestra providing flexible and sympathetic accompaniments. And stand-outs among the principals, for me, were Matthew Palmer (Strephon), an excellent young tenor still at the outset of what should be a very successful career, and Meriel Cunningham (Iolanthe), who has a rich mezzo-soprano tone and real clarity. Matthew Kellett enjoys rattling off the patter as the Lord Chancellor; Matthew Siveter has his spot of glory as Private Willis; Emily Vine is a winsome Phyllis and Amy J Payne an imperious Queen of the Fairies; and Ben McAteer and Hal Cazalet enjoy prancing their way through as Earls Mountararat and Tolloller. Utopia LimitedOne of the orchestra members was using the audience loos […]
2022-07-25 11:00:00
Sit back and enjoy: London Early Opera's engagingly virtuosic performance of Handel's pasticcio, Caio Fabbricio
Handel, after Hasse: Caio Fabbricio - Fleur Barron, Anna Gorbachyova-Ogilvie, Miriam Allan, Hannah Poulsom, Morgan Pearse, Helen Charlston, Jess Dandy, London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham; SIGNUM CLASSICSHandel's late pasticcio showcasing the music of Hasse and the younger generation; perhaps weak on drama but featuring some stunning, stylish singingHaving heard it in concert [see my review], and now listened to it on disc, you feel that Handel's pasticcio Caio Fabbricio makes ideal home listening, you can enjoy the music and not have to worry about the more awkward corners in the drama. And there is some spectacular music. Handel created the pasticcio in 1733 to showcase the music of his younger contemporary, Hasse, using a songbook and libretto from Hasse's opera Caio Fabbricio to create a new opera, with Hasse's arias, Handel's new recitatives and orchestration. Except that having a line-up of singers available that differed significantly in voice types from those in the premiere of […]
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