Opera Course Scenes with GSMD, Milton Court
29th March 2017This annual production is well worth attending. The scenes are no mere lollipops, but properly costumed and propped extracts where the combined talents for students not just of opera, but costumes, lighting, stage direction and of course accompaniment are all used to produce some very high quality vignettes. Frankly I enjoyed these more than some I'd seen in the main opera houses where costumes and sets can be dubious to ludicrous in their ever-bewildering rush to be seen as relevant or alternative! Sometimes it's just nice to see something played straight, but cleverly and that's just what we had this evening. The scenes spanned the full canon from Monteverdi to Britten and were sung with considerable polish by the students, and very ably accompanied by two students alternating on the piano. Our sponsored baritone, Michael Vickers (who sang so nicely at the January Dinner) performed Ramiro from Ravel's L'heure Espagnole and Don Giovanni from the eponymous opera by Mozart - the costumes were so good that I didn't spot him in his first role! An excellent evening which demonstrated that our money is being used for an excellent cause.