Otello at the Royal Opera House

Otello at the Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House pulled out all the stops in giving us a new production of this incredibly forceful Verdi opera, Otello.  Keith Warner was asked to direct this new production and the cast of Jonas Kaufmann as Otello, Maria Agresta as Desdemona and Marco Vratogna as Iago was almost as good as it gets today.  

Sadko at Vlaanderen Opera in Ghent

Sadko at Vlaanderen Opera in Ghent

David Buchler

Sadko is an extraordinary opera, written by Rimsky Korsakov in 1891 and premiered in Moscow in 1898.  It is an opera rarely performed today, probably due to its production complexities and the difficulty of finding a tenor to sing the enormously complicated and high lying role of Sadko. 

La Traviata at the Royal Opera House

La Traviata at the Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

La Traviata (the fallen woman) is one of Verdi’s most popular operas. It is based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas and its world premiere was at La Fenice in Venice in 1853. As with everything to do with opera there was a dispute with the local authority who insisted that a contemporary setting was inappropriate and the production had to be circa 1700. It was not until 1880 that a more contemporary production was staged.

L'elisir d'amore at the Royal Opera House

L'elisir d'amore at the Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

L'elisir d'amore is a two-act comic opera by the Italian composer Donizetti and was premiered in 1832 in Milan. The opera was written in six weeks! It is a love story reflecting on how a young farm worker Nemorino gets his girl, the farm owner Adina, despite the interest of a rival the boastful Sergeant Belcore and using a love potion put together by the dubious Doctor Dulcamara.

Tosca at the Grange Park Opera

Tosca at the Grange Park Opera

David Buchler

Tosca was chosen by Grange Park Opera to open its new theatre at the home of the mercurial Bamber Gascoigne at West Horsley Place in Surrey.  The modern horseshoe design on four tiers with a semi-domed roof enables you to enjoy a clear vibrant acoustic sound.  

La Rondine at Opera Holland Park

La Rondine at Opera Holland Park

David Buchler

La Rondine has a rather varied history and is often regarded as Puccini’s ‘poor cousin’ opera.  He was, even until his death, unhappy with each of the three versions that he wrote (1917, 1920, 1921) and never gave a clear indication as to his preferred ending he preferred.