Hope for the future of English Opera?
This evening at Opera Holland Park to see the British Youth Opera’s L’occasione fa il Ladro (Rossini) one of two operas (with two performances apiece) offered here by BYO.
These young erstwhile professionals at the start of their careers (and having combatted the isolations of Covid) gave great performances, their voices strong and true, and exhibiting fine acting skills which made this very light Rossini ‘mistaken identity’ opera swing along.
Set (mainly) modern, the six principal singers (and two ‘actors’ covering all other parts) this night (there are two full casts) sang well together, and separately – with Joe Chalmers (bass baritone) and Laura Fleur (mezzo-soprano) particularly impressive both in terms of voice and acting (Chalmers presenting comically as a tuneful Jack Whitehall).
The Holland Park stage is, this season, impressively large – which must have been a challenge to block and rehearse for – but the cast looked completely at home – an accomplishment in itself.
With the persistent calls of birds (and shouts of those enjoying the park), and even an intruding pigeon to overcome, the cast did so admirably and with aplomb (one of the charms of this park opera when it works).
Overall, if this is the standard of the next generation of opera singers, then this enjoyable night portends many more to come over the years.