PAPER DAUGHTER

        Whitney George conducting Bea Goodwin's "Paper Daughter"

There are very few people who can persuade us to depart from our customary reviewing goal--that of fostering the careers of young opera singers and encouraging the success of small opera companies. Tops on our list of such people are composer/conductor Whitney George and writer/director Bea Goodwin. We can count on this team to create works of originality and high emotional impact. Although we only had space in our schedule to see two of the six works that they presented at The Cell, we continue to hold their artistry in high regard.

Maestro George composed music for The Curiosity Cabinet Ensemble, comprising pianist Kristin Barone-Samadi, percussionist Tamika Gorski, flutist Alice Jones, and cellist Thea Mesirow.  Ms. Goodwin's "Paper Daughter" told the story of an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in San Francisco's Chinatown at the turn of the 20th c. and its effect on one family. Grandfather (Angky Budiardjono) is telling his grandson (Chu Sam) about the plague death of his mother ( Cynthia Yiru Hu) who had been adopted in an apparent scheme designed to bring Chinese children to the USA). Rob Chen played a number of parts, including a USA Immigration Officer.

Some stories are best told by essay and commentary (like some irrelevant and boring contemporary "operas") and others by original theater.  This story of anti-Chinese bias (dramaturgy by Yutong Yang) was theatrical and powerfully told; it filled us with sympathy and sadness. We were reminded of one of our earliest theatrical experiences in New York City, created (if memory serves us correctly) by solo artist Winston Tong, on the subject of foot binding--a work so powerful that we remember it decades later and can still feel the pain.

The work was part of a double feature festival entitled In the Throes of Death, produced as a tribute to the Golden Age of Radio, including "On Air" and "Applause" signs with live "incidental" music and authentic foley sounds (Patrick Litterst). We wondered whether anyone remembers the days before television when families gathered around the radio and used their imagination to visualize the dramas presented. We wondered what it might have been like to have experienced this work in a dark theater. 

We, as the "studio audience", had a different perspective, that of witnessing the actors in the drama standing in front of microphones. (Truth to tell, we found the sound design wanting and wished that the microphones had been only props. Regular readers will recall how deeply we detest amplification). The titles  (Miriam Rochford) were projected onto Chinese fans mounted on the rear wall. (Scenographer was Luther Frank with Lighting Design by Sasha Finley and 

Projection Design by Sierra Shreves).

The second half of the evening was the dramatization of "The Strange Library", a novella by Haruki Murakami.  What impressed us the most was how different Mo. George's music was from the Asian inflected melodies of "Paper Daughter". Apropos of the chilling plot of  "The Strange Library", her music served to intensify the spooky feelings of the story. There was nothing "incidental" about Mo. George's music, which was effectively realized by The Curiosity Cabinet Ensemble and sensitively conducted as only the composer can.

Unfortunately, the festival has ended but watch out for future productions by this superb partnership.

© meche kroop

CHASING LIGHT AND FINDING ILLUMINATION

At the urging of one of our favorite directors (Bea Goodwin) we were persuaded to trek to a performance space in the East Village to listen to some new music--instrumental music, no less, called Chasing the Light. Our lack of enthusiasm turned to rapture within the first five minutes. To us "new music" (anything in the last 3/4 of a century) has meant sitting in a concert hall dimmed to the point of obscuring the boring composer's notes in the program, figuratively scratching our head, looking at our watch, impatient for the piece to end so we could get on to the Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, or Mahler that we came to hear.  Little did we know that "new music" could take us to places buried in our unconscious or places never before imagined. For an hour and a half we were transported to inner space and outer space.

The closest we have ever come to such an experience was at events called "happenings" that we attended long long ago. But this event, immersive as it was, took at its starting point the music of Whitney George which she herself conducted. The work comprised 16 episodes (movements?) that had as a unifying theme the use of the interval of a 2nd with the two notes on the scale rubbing against each other and creating overtones that bounced around the performing space. There were brief motifs and partial scale passages but no melody to speak of.

Ms. George's composition was performed by six musicians--a pianist, a flutist, a clarinetist, a violinist, a cellist, and a percussionist. We doubt we have ever heard such interesting textures. Often, the combination of instruments led us to believe that there were more than six instruments involved. We've never heard that before.

But this was not just a musical event. It was an immersive experience that went far beyond. "mixed media". Fortunately, there were none of those projections that annoy and distract us. Rather there were "light boxes", also vaguely recalled from long long ago, projecting biomorphic images on the walls.

The space was pitch black, which augmented the experience of focusing on the moment as well as, paradoxically, allowing the imagination to run wild. Each episode had its own "light show" , illuminating inner space and sometimes outer space. One was continually surrounded by an environment which enhanced the music.

Another element was that of dance, or body movement if one prefers that term. In one episode the dancer's silhouette was projected as shadows on the walls. The most striking episode was one in which the space was filled with fog and one could see the dancer, or part of her body, through the fog as it shifted around the space. She was accompanied by the violin. This evoked a long forgotten memory of being stranded at the top of the Matterhorn in Switzerland during a whiteout in which we waited for the briefest interludes in the fog to slowly pick our way down the mountain.  Only later did we learn that the episode included the use of the scent of pine, which we might have perceived at an unconscious level. 

Our words here are only a feeble attempt to describe something that was meant to be experienced. We can only say that we spent an hour and a half in an altered state and left filled with wonder. The chamber music collective which created this work is called Curiosity Cabinet.

© meche kroop

A STUNNING NEW OPERA

Whitney George, composer/conductor of Princess Maleine (photo by Brian E. Long)

It was a big gamble for Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble to commission a new opera; the gamble paid off and a stunning new opera was presented as part of the Summer Festival, honoring female composers, conductors, and directors. Billed as a fairy tale, we say otherwise. A fairytale is a folk tale that is handed down from one generation to the next with themes that are consistent from one culture to the next.

Whitney George's new opera has elements of fairy tales--Kings, Queens, a Princess in a tower, a Prince Charming, etc. but it is based upon an 1890's play by Maurice Maeterlinck that was not produced until after his death. The Symbolist movement in literature is difficult to define but, no matter, librettist and director Bea Goodwin has chosen her own take on the story, emphasizing the agency of the female characters. In this she has largely succeeded.

Actually, the most interesting character onstage is Queen Ann of Jutland, portrayed by the fascinating Mr. Liz Bouk whose regal appearance, expressive face and body, and arresting contralto voice lent verisimilitude to the characterization. Queen Ann is the very image of the evil stepmother, but here the character is the evil mother-in-law-to-be. She is a master manipulator, both of King Hjalmar of Ysselmonde, of whom she is the consort, and of her own daughter Princess Ursula (Uglyane in the Maeterlinck). She succeeds in killing the lovely Princess Maleine of Harlingen, a role portrayed beautifully by the lovely light soprano Elyse Kakacek, who looked and sang exactly right.

Bass-baritone Eric Lindsey lent his splendid voice to the role of King Hjalmar of Ysselmonde, a man whose power declines once he destroys the kingdom of his neighbor King Marcellus of Harlingen (portrayed by Jonathan Harris), a man who makes the foolish decision to insist that his unwilling daughter Princess Maleine marry a Burgundian, for political reasons.

The role of King Marcellus' wife Queen Godelive was superbly sung by soprano Kristina Malinauskaite. Her character was portrayed as kind and gentle but she dies along with her husband in the war with King Hjalmar. She reappears as a spirit again in Act II. Neither of the pair provide any support for poor Princess Maleine who has fallen in love with Prince Hjalmar, portrayed by Jeremy Brauner, whose grainy tenor seemed all wrong for the part, the only casting decision that seemed flawed.

Mezzo-soprano Nicholle Bittlingmeyer made a fine Aleta, Lady-in-Waiting to the Princess, accompanying her on her journey. The two of them had a lovely duet in Act I.

Playing The Fool was counter-tenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum whose flexible face, supple body, and eerie tone were just right for the part. Sometimes he commented on the action, sometimes he guided the action, and sometimes he lead the characters astray. But he always entertained.

Tenor Gabriel Hernandez and baritone Connor Lidell had a fine bit together as the Guards Vanox and Stephano. Baritone Shane Brown took the role of Angus, confidant of the Prince. In a confusing costuming decision, the two men who had a similar appearance, with matching bald pates and nearly identical costumes, seemed interchangeable.

We enjoyed the performance of soprano MaKayla McDonald as Queen Ann's daughter--a most reluctant bride for King Hjalmar's son. Her performance was both touching and humorous. The only plot point that was unexplained was how the two had never met since their respective parents ruled together!

The mime show held during the overture involved the petite Megan Vanacore  playing the part of Queen Ann's young son flying a kite. The libretto indicated that the kite represented a soul, yearning and aspiring--but held to the ground by the string.

Marcus Hollie portrayed the doctor who concocts poisonous elixirs for the evil Queen.

Stealing the show was a realistic puppet-poodle named Pluto, marvelously manipulated by the aforementioned Jonathan Harris.

There was something particularly special and seemingly authentic about a scene in which the Princess and Aleta escape from the tower and come upon a tavern. The libretto here was more than usually clever and made us think of Sondheim. Jessica Harika and Anna Woiwood were appropriately basse classe. We liked Ms. Goodwin's libretto best when it rhymed and scanned. There were some clever moments indeed!

What about Whitney George's music? Well, dear readers, we have saved the best for last. This was our first exposure to Ms. George's music although we have enjoyed her finely detailed conducting before. Unlike most contemporary compositions, what we heard offered delights aplenty. There was ample variety of styles and colorful orchestration for the 14-member chamber orchestra. Woodwinds and brass were particularly noteworthy, as were the ethereal sounds from the percussionist. Lyrical passages alternated with rhythmic staccato sounds. There were no longueurs; our attention was held throughout. As you may have predicted, we would have preferred more melody in the vocal writing.

There was even a tango, accompaniment to a scene in which Queen Ann tries to seduce the Prince. More credit to choreographer Lauren Hlubny!

Costume Designer Claire Townsend provided lovely gowns for Queen Godelive and the Princess, and a splendiferous one for Queen Ann. The two Kings, whilst a bit more modest, could not be mistaken for commoners.  The Prince, however was clad in a rather contemporary suit, as was his buddy Angus. It was difficult to see him as a prince.

Joo Hyun Kim's set was simple but effective with lighting handled by Dante Olivia Smith.

We would like to close by mentioning how much more enjoyable this original work was than the recently reviewed Thirteenth Child and Korngold's The Miracle of Heliane--both failed attempts to create a fairy tale. That is a difficult task to achieve, matching the wisdom of centuries of storytelling. Just think about the success of Cenerentola, Cendrillon, and Hansel und Gretel! Rossini, Massenet and Humperdinck had real fairytales to work with.

If you are tempted to see for yourself, there will be one more performance Saturday night. To tempt you further, we will post a carousel of photos on our Facebook page--Voce di Meche.

(c) meche kroop

MORE #METOO

Scott Lindroth, Amelia Hensley, Helena Brown, Andrew Dwan, Allison Gish, Victor Khodadad,
Julia Tang, and Barbara Porto

Social movements generally take a while to get off the ground and then, it seems, they reach critical mass and dominate the conversation. In the past ten days we have reviewed a half-dozen operas with the theme of women suffering from egregious male misbehavior-- being intimidated by male power and made to feel guilty for male lust. We will indeed be overjoyed when this situation is eliminated. New Camerata Opera has joined the movement with an excellent realization of The Rape of Lucretia.

The Rape of Lucretia was composed by Britten as one of a group of chamber operas written in the impoverished post-World War II period when faith and funds were in equally short supply in Great Britain. The libretto by Ronald Duncan is prosy, declamatory, filled with special pleadings for Christianity, and marked by poetic metaphors--some of which were lovely, i.e. "Thirsty evening has drunk the wine of light". Others were more obscure. There wasn't much in the way of vocal line to appreciate.

Serving as narrators of the story were Victor Khodadad and the powerful soprano Helena Brown. In a masterstroke by Stage Director Bea Goodwin, a "silent" narrator, in the person of actor Amelia Hensley, "doubled" the role of Lucretia; she enacted the words in American Sign Language, thus driving home the point of women being silenced. We wondered how the expressive Ms. Hensley co-ordinated her signing with the dialogue and learned that there were titles projected toward the stage as well as toward the audience.

We might mention right now that the English was so clearly enunciated that titles were uncharacteristically redundant. We would also like to mention that the female members of the cast learned enough ASL to incorporate some signing as gestures whilst singing. We have only a slight familiarity with ASL but enough to recognize a few of their signs and to know of their legitimacy. We found this to be extraordinarily powerful and quite compelling, adding to their expressivity.

The story is reported rather differently in various historical sources but is thought to take place around 500 B.C.E. A group of soldiers, fueled by resentment, alcohol and testosterone, rail against the unfaithfulness of women. Their wives have cuckolded them in their absence; the air is thick with shame.  Only the wife of Collatinus (bass Andrew Dwan) has remained chaste and the others are jealous. The evil Etruscan Prince Tarquinius (baritone Stan Lacy) has no wife, just a bunch of whores.

Egged on by Junius (baritone Scott Lindroth), Tarquinius decides to make a wild late-night ride to Rome to prove Lucretia false. There was an interesting but subtle directorial move here; the urging of conscience takes place in one ear and the urging of lust in the other.

This ride was a highlight of the evening for several reasons. One is the creative use of the cast members to create the image of this mad ride with a violently whipped and furiously galloping horse; the other was the driven music (under the baton of Maestro Justin Bischof) which did not quite equal Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Walkyries" but was exciting in its own right.

When Tarquinius arrives at Collatinus' home, the faithful Lucretia (superb mezzo-soprano Allison Gish) feels intimidated and obliged to offer him hospitality. During the night, he enters her room. Whilst asleep she responds briefly to the rapist, thinking it to be her husband. When she awakes she fights back to no avail. The next morning, mad with shame and guilt, she sends for her husband. He understands and absolves her but she stabs herself.

Adding greatly to the story, by showing the contrast between the men's world of violence and the women's world of peaceful spinning and cultivating flowers, are Lucretia's two companions, her motherly nurse Bianca (mezzo-soprano Julia Tang) and the younger flirtatious Lucia (soprano Barbara Porto). In their spinning scene, the visuals were creative and the melismatic singing gave us an opportunity to appreciate the lovely tonal quality of their instruments.

Like most post-Puccini operas, this one struck us as a "play with music". For our personal taste, the best part of the score was the gentle music played whilst Lucretia slept, emphasizing the harp. Otherwise, the score is dissonant and complex as befits the story. Maestro Bischof conducted the strings of the chamber orchestra on stage right with the winds occupying stage left. Percussion was placed behind the performers.

Luther Frank's set was minimalistic as were Sarah Dixey's costumes. We were far more interested in Ms. Goodwin's effective storytelling and visual imagery, as well as the excellent singing. Photos of the production can be seen on our Facebook page--Voce di Meche.

After three experiences with this opera we acknowledge its powerful message and its relevancy but it will never be in our "Top 100". And yet, we recommend it highly for the originality of this production and its successful execution.

(c) meche kroop

NEW BEGINNINGS FOR MR. LIZ

Mr. Liz Bouk at Dixon Place

What an astonishing performer! Mr. Liz is on a courageous journey and his performances invite the audience to share in his journey. Yes, this beautiful person has chosen the label "transgendered" and has come out as a man, a very beautiful man, but a man just the same, preferring masculine pronouns, a request which we honor. We ourself do not like labels and prefer to experience him as a unique being with a striking mezzo-soprano voice and the ability to portray "breeches roles" with preternatural artistry.

To begin at the "old" beginning, Mr. Liz first came to our attention five years ago as Elizabeth Bouk, and we have reviewed him at least a half dozen times or more since then with Utopia Opera, dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, and Gramercy Opera. He has brought life to the brutally raped Lucretia, the abandoned Augusta Tabor, a witch in Macbeth, Count Almaviva's latest conquest, and Strauss' Komponist. If you put "Elizabeth Bouk" in the search bar, you can read these archived reviews. Some of those roles were revived last night in his new show, but we are getting ahead of ourself.

Having come out as a man, our first hearing of Mr. Liz was two months ago in a show you can read about if you insert "Liz Bouk" in the search bar. That will detail his life story in detail. Last night he was very open about the decision to avoid hormonal or surgical intervention. Preservation of his voice is the most important issue and with that we can heartily agree.

Still, what is more important than the vocal quality is the ability to connect with the audience and to convey the important message that we are each entitled to express ourselves in a way that is authentic and honest. Our culture fortunately allows us this freedom and we have the choice to take advantage of this freedom.

Mr. Liz' expressiveness is so colorful and varied that we have had the very devil of a time paring down a hundred photos we took to the ten we can post on Facebook. We refer you to our FB page Voce di Meche to see the ten we ultimately selected.

Curating songs for the show must have been a great deal of fun. Mr. Liz was able to revisit many of the arias we enjoyed before. The show opened with a clever and funny song by Zina Goldrich called "The Alto's Lament" in which a mezzo-soprano expresses her boredom with the line she is given to sing.

Then we heard the aria from Douglas Moore's Ballad of Baby Doe in which Augusta Tabor receives a loving letter and a pair of gloves from her husband Horace--and learns that they were meant for his mistress.

Later, he sang "Warm as the Autumn Light", Horace's baritone aria from the same opera. Who else beside Mr. Liz could have performed both roles with beauty and meaning and with not a hint of irony!

As Octavian, he sang "Wie du wärst" from Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier, a role in which we had not heard him. Any opera company would do well to snap him up, for the beautiful tone and the convincing presentation.

From Felix Jarrar's Tabula Rasa, we heard Bea Goodwin's smartly written aria about Dada for the character Tristan Tzara and Hannah's aria "Three Words" from As One, written by Laura Kaminsky, libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed. That opera is about the converse conversion--a male to female transgendered person trying to find her identity.

"Somewhere" from Bernstein's West Side Story is a plea for finding a place where one feels safe and fulfilled. We venture to offer that Mr. Liz is well on his way to such a place.

The closing number was upbeat and fun--"I'm a Stranger Here Myself" from Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus. Can we find ourselves strangers in strange places and yet find that "somewhere". We think so!

Excellent piano accompaniment was provided by Kathryn Olander who played for the last show as well.  A fine team they are!

(c) meche kroop

HEROINES OF OPERA--NEW CAMERATA OPERA GALA

Allison Gish

Eva Parr and Erik Bagger

We had a grand time last night at The Flea in Tribeca, where New Camerata Opera presented a very fun very gala evening of food, drink, entertainment, and a foretaste of some upcoming events.

The always adventuresome company not only presents works for us grownups but also brings opera into the public schools with their Camerata Piccolo Program and further has a program called CamerataWorks, creating short video operas for the video generation. One might say they have all the bases covered, if you will permit a metaphor from someone who knows nothing about sports. Let us say they are about to hit a home run with their upcoming performance of Britten's Rape of Lucretia.

Director Bea Goodwin (whose work we love and heartily endorse) gave a brief talk about female vulnerability which was brought to society's awareness by this story over two millenia ago; the situation has not yet been remedied. She spoke about the harsh reality of rape and its dire consequences.  She made a strong plea for defending citizens from tyrants. Can we relate to this when our own president is a "groper"?

Her talk was followed by some gripping performances from the opera which will be presented May 2nd, 4th, and 5th, also at The Flea, a comfortable and convenient venue.

Erik Bagger lent his soulful tenor to "Tarquinius' Ride" and showed admirable flexibility in adorning the vocal line. The excitement built just as Britten intended with the excellent Brian Holman accompanying on the keyboard.

Baritone Stan Lacy illuminated more about Tarquinius' character than we have ever heard in "Within this frail crucible of light" and, surprisingly, we found ourself understanding where this "bad dude" was coming from.

One of Ms. Goodwin's original directorial inventions was to have Amelia Hensley conveying the text of "Give him this orchid" in American Sign Language whilst the powerful mezzo-soprano Allison Gish sang the aria. The signing was so graceful to watch that we had trouble focusing on Ms. Gish's superlative singing.

Fortunately, we had another opportunity later in the program when this marvelous mezzo sang "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila. Not since we heard Marilyn Horne sing this role have we enjoyed it as much.

Soprano Mithuna Sivaraman used her coloratura instrument effectively in "Da tempeste il legno infranto" from Händel's Giulio Cesare. The clarity of her enbellishments of the vocal line left no doubt about her gift for Baroque opera. We heard her previously in a contemporary piece but readers will have no doubt about our preference. We cannot evaluate a singer's voice until we hear him/her singing something Baroque or Bel Canto!

To end the entertainment portion of the evening, mezzo-soprano Eva Parr transported us to Lillas Pastia's taberna with "Les tringles des sistres tintaient" from Bizet's Carmen. This is not the first time we heard Mr. Bagger play the guitar and his accompaniment here was delightful and very Spanish. Ms. Parr's versatility as an artist made her a fine Carmen.

The third branch of New Camerata Opera is CamerataWorks and we watched a short video of a Charles Ives song "Songs my mother taught me". We confess that we don't "get" video and furthermore, on this topic, we prefer Dvorak! Still, it's a worthwhile project and sure to find an audience.

Aside from the upcoming Britten, on May 3rd there will be a concert of songs by women--Isabella Colbran, Pauline Viardot, and Maria Malibran. So...are the Heroines of Opera the composers, the characters of the operas, or the singers???  Let's find out on May 3rd.

(c) meche kroop

A MARRIAGE, A FUNERAL, AND A HAPPY ENDING

Aumna Iqbal, Marques Hollie, and Joyce Yin in Caccini's Euridice

Music can lift our spirits, bring us catharsis for sorrow, and produce feelings of oneness with the universe.  But can it bring the dead to life? That is a myth the Ancients would have us believe. The demigod Orpheus played and sang so beautifully that he was able to soften the heart of Pluto, god of the underworld, and thereby guide his beloved Euridice back to Earth.

What a perfect story for a new musical form, devised in 1600. Many opera goers credit Monteverdi as the first composer of opera but the oldest surviving score is that of Giulio Caccini who used a libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini--also used by Jacopo Peri. We understand there was a race to get the opera performed.  These scholarly points matter little to us. What matters to us is that the the fearless and endlessly creative Cantanti Project underwent the project of restoring Caccini's work to vibrant life.

At the turn of the 17th c. there were no theatrical conventions for opera as new ground was being broken. Harking back to antiquity, a Greek Chorus was used to narrate and the characters  sang lovely melodic phrases to each other simply and directly with minimal artifice. 

In this telling of the tale, the chorus of shepherds and nymphs tells us of the joys of the happy couple, Orfeo and Euridice.  Euridice (Artistic Director soprano Joyce Yin) celebrates with her friends, dancing and singing her joy. The celebration of Orfeo (mezzo-soprano Aumna Iqbal) and his friends is somewhat randy with teasing and masculine energy.

The sad news that Euridice has died of a snakebite is brought by Dafne (soprano Elyse Anne Kakacek). Arcetro (soprano Laura Mitchell) tells of the arrival of the goddess Venus (mezzo-soprano Brittany Fowler) who will carry Orfeo to the underworld in her chariot. She encourages him to use his musical talent to sway Pluto, god of the underworld.

At first, Pluto (bass-baritone Tom Corbeil) is intransigent. Returning the dead to Earth is not in his playbook. The intervention of his wife Proserpina (soprano Lydia Dahling) has a powerful effect and Orfeo gets to take Euridice home.

The good news is spread by Aminta (tenor Marquis Hollie) who unites the loving couple and everyone celebrates.

Under the divine direction of Bea (Brittany) Goodwin, the entire cast (including tenor Michael Celentano in the dual roles of Tirsi and Caronte (Charon), the tale was told with integrity and sincerity. We expected the fine singing that we heard from the cast but were astonished by their facility with body movement. We concluded that several of the female cast members had experienced  ballet training at some point. Ms. Yin was particularly affecting in her joyful turns and arabesques. We loved the physicality of the production as much as the singing.

Musical accompaniment was provided by Dorian Baroque with Dylan Sauerwald conducting from the harpsichord. The instrumentation was given to John Mark Rozendaal who bowed his Viola da Gamba with impressive lyricism, to Paul Holmes Morton who dazzled us with his control of the long necked Theorbo, and the plangently plucked Harp of Christa Patton. There were passages in which only one or two instruments were heard.

The singing was lovely all around and the production generated optimistic feelings. We wondered what the audience might have thought and felt four centuries ago. We imagine that this novel form of entertainment must have made a hit because opera continued to grow and evolve.

We would add that Alexandria Hoffman's simple costume designs were effective, as were the simple props.

This is only Cantanti Project's fourth season but they have already given us a number of memorable evenings, including a radical interpretation of Handel's Orlando. Although they are not a repertory company, their reputation ensures that they can attract a stellar cast, as evidenced by the outstanding performances we heard in this production of Euridice.

(c) meche kroop