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Instant Opera‘s production of Mozart’s great opera, Don Giovanni (also my favourite opera) is ‘super bad’. Why? Because it involves vampires. What if I told you that, in this production, the Don isn’t just a cold-hearted murderer and polygamous lover, with a long list of international conquests, but Britain’s own version of Count Dracula… Think about it for a second. It sounds interesting, doesn’t it? But does it work?

Performed at Normansfield Theatre in Teddington, I got to see a fantastic show of classical singers falling for, and chasing after, the elusive Count Dracula. In a previous life he was an explorer and whaler from the 17th century. Set two hundreds years after, the Don has returned to give a kiss of death, literally a bite on the neck to whoever he fancied, and they’d turn, too, transforming into hungry zombie-esque vampires. And it is no surprise that his funny, yet scared manservant, Leporello, is the only survivor.

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Event took place on July 16th 2017. Original review was published on Culturevulture.net. Click here to read review on CultureVulture.net. 

Welcome to the BBC Proms 2017. Marking their 90th anniversary, the Proms continues to pursue Henry Wood’s founding principles and present classical music to the widest possible audience with celebrated international artists, orchestras and conductors. The annual summer festival has its devoted followers and ‘prommers’ rounding up early in the afternoon, just before the big event. And with standing tickets worth £6 only, who could blame them.

Proms 3 was an afternoon concert focused on works by Mozart and Schumann. Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink made his 89th performance at the Proms with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The conductor looked dashing and in good shape for 88-years-old and, it should be noted, the choice of works for the concert’s programme weren’t quick, hit and run-type pieces. In fact, the first half was no more than an hour long with two fascinating works by Mozart, and Haitink wasn’t taking any survivors. Not literally, of course. As presentation goes the Royal Albert Hall got professionalism at its best with fine and squeaky clean music-playing from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The relentless and highly-spirited playing was visible throughout the concert – we have to thank the energy and sheer force of Mozartian conductor, Haitink, for that.>>>

‘I have five hours of sleep. I wake up very early, pumped with adrenaline. Sometimes I have arias stuck in my head.’ I am on the phone with Nina Brazier, one of Britain’s leading young directors of opera, and she tells me about her experience preparing in rehearsals for the new production of The Garden of Disguises (La Finta Giardiniera) at Ryedale Festival Opera. ‘Mozart was so young when he wrote the opera. It’s light-hearted, suits youthful voices and works well with a young cast.’

I have five hours of sleep. I wake up very early, pumped with adrenaline. Sometimes I have arias stuck in my head.

Nina Brazier in rehearsals ©Penny Millar

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