Thanks to Welsh Nationwide Opera for offering us with tickets to Play Opera Stay for the aim of this assessment
Even earlier than right this moment’s Play Opera Stay efficiency begins, we’ve already frolicked studying concerning the backstage wizardry that goes on behind the scenes at Welsh Nationwide Opera. And whereas my three youngsters have all determined they’re too outdated for face portray courtesy of the make up crew and treasure hunts, they liked having a go at working a theatrical gentle system, taking part in varied devices together with a Steinway grand piano, and watching time-lapse movies of units being constructed.
The actions happening earlier than right this moment’s Dinosaur Discoveries-themed present are simply as a lot part of the occasion because the performing itself, serving to households realise that opera is extra accessible than some individuals would have you ever consider (and at £30 for a household of 4 it’s fairly priced too).
Granted you wouldn’t take little children to observe a full scale model of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, however what higher an introduction to the doomed sailor cursed to sail the seas with out respite than utilizing the music to accompany our personal journey as we set sail over stormy waters searching for an island inhabited by dinosaurs. Our host Tom Redmond (a musician and presenter on BBC Radio 3, BBC Proms and extra) has us leaning left, proper, ahead and backwards, as we navigate the treacherous waters. We meet the Offended Fairy (WNO soprano Stacey Wheeler), wearing a sumptous black velvet robe. She has been looking for 100 years for her love and tells us about it within the Queen of the Night time Aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Puccini’s Chi Il Bel Sogno; and tenor Gareth Dafydd Morris, who has likewise been looking for her for a century, as he tells us in E Lucevan Le Setelle from Puccini’s Tosca.
Tom Redmond is an excellent, charismatic host for the afternoon. In addition to the aforementioned boat journey, he has us up out of our seats and tip-toeing to Grieg’s Corridor of the Mountain Form from Peer Gynt Suite (recognisable for a lot of from the animated movie Trolls) and singing alongside to Dinosaur Rumpus composed by Steve Pickett, and primarily based on Tony Mitton’s youngsters’s guide. Redomond even crawls round on the ground pretending to be a dinosaur at one level.
A few dinosaurs take to the auditorium to bop and meet the younger viewers members and naturally, no efficiency about dinosaurs is full and not using a lovely rendition of John Williams’ Jurassic Park theme.
There’s a relaxed vibe to right this moment’s efficiency; the lights don’t go down totally, there’s loads of silliness and viewers involvement and it retains us the children all through. Nonetheless there are slight moments the place the orchestra and singers aren’t fairly loud sufficient to thoroughly swap off from low degree chatter from the viewers and the place the orchestra isn’t as amplified as one may need appreciated.
That stated, seeing the 70 or so members of Welsh Nationwide Opera’s Orchestra on stage, it’s superb to suppose that such an enormous group of musicians and their conductor (right this moment, Frederick Brown has the baton) are usually barely seen to the viewers, not simply at opera performances, however at musicals and different reveals too. It’s nice to see them taking to the stage for such a enjoyable and vibrant efficiency, making classical music and well-known operatic arias accessible to all, and looking out like they’re having nice enjoyable doing it too.
Play Opera Stay was at Wales Millennium Centre for only one efficiency, however for extra info on related future reveals and Welsh Nationwide Opera on the whole go to the web site right here. WNO’s Spring Season opens this week, with Blaze Of Glory!, a couple of male voice choir in a Valleys mining group, and Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
