FRONT OF HOUSE
˘ EDITORIAL
Taking stock as opera’s summer season begins
˝ YOUNG ARTIST
OF THE MONTH
Meeting rising star, designer Hannah Postlethwaite
°-˛˘ NEWS & NOTES
Seasons are announced at the Royal Opera House, the BBC Proms brings opera to the Albert Hall, and Glyndebourne announces an art exhibition alongside its summer festival.
REVIEWS
ˆ˜-˜ LIVE REVIEWS
UK Royal Opera House Innocence (36); English National Opera The Dead City & Blue(38) UK Opera Roundup (40)
EUROPE La Scala Les contes d’Ho° mann(42) La Monnaie Bastarda I & II (44)
USA Metropolitan Opera, New York Falsta° (46) Sarasota Winter Opera Festival (49)
˜°-˘˛ RECORDINGS
New releases on CD, Digital & AV including: Roméo et Juliette– a new recording on Erato from John Nelson and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and others from Rachel Willis-Sørensen and mezzo Anne Sophie von Otter as well as Matthias Hartmann’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos from last year captured on film Opera Now Choice: Julie Fuchs’s new album of Mozart soprano arias, Amadè comes with a glowing recommendation
˘˘-˝ˆ SPOTLIGHT Worldwide Opera Guide and answers to this issue’s Quiz (p 63)
COVER PHOTO: TAMARA THALHAMMER
CONTENTS
˛˝ Cover feature
British countertenor Iestyn Davies prepares for a summer at Garsington Opera as he takes on the role of Farnace in Mozart’s Mitridate. He takes us through his road to success from a musical family, study at Wells Cathedral School and the importance of taking continued risks as a singer
˙ˆ Thando Mjandana
Tenor Thando Mjandana takes us through his success at the Black Voice of Opera Awards to singing major roles at Longborough and Waterperry this summer
˙˝ A new opera at HollandˇPark
Jonathan Dove’s latest opera, Itch, adapted from Simon Mayo’s
best-selling novels, takes to Holland Park’s stage this July. We speak to Jonathan Dove and conductor Jessica Cottis about this collaboration and the joys of contemporary opera
ˆ ENO focus
As a diÿcult season for the ENO comes to an end, we review two of their latest operas, Tesori’s Blue and Korngold’s The Dead City
˝˜ My Favourite Things
Soprano Sally Matthews shares her beloved items and experiences
˝˝ Quiz
How well do you know Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw? Test your opera knowledge in our monthly quiz
˜° Sarasota Winter Festival, Florida
Florida’s Gulf Coast gleamed with opera this February, with works including Madama Butterfly, Verdi’s Ernani and Massenet’s Thérèse. We give a round up of the festival, exploring the company’s provision for young artists.
