Mozart Don Giovanni Don Giovanni Nicholas Garrett Conductor Robert Dean Opera Holland Park, July 4 at 2pm A full house on a lovely summer afternoon should convince OHP that Sunday matinées should be here to stay in their schedules; more convenient for many opera fans. The reviews * are generally favourable, especially for the set in which Yannis Thavoris "ingeniously complements the handsomely restored façade and leaded windows of the original house with dark wood panelled surfaces, quickly spiriting us from mansion to hotel to tavern." We would perhaps have preferred a litte more allure and menace than Nicholas Garrett spreads around him, and I do like to see the Stone Guest nod his invitation acceptance... Pol****** Corr******* makes it anathema to question OHP's casting of Masetto, who does well enough; the same issue is treated head on by RADA which, in their superb current Shakespeare season, points out that racism was rife in Queen Elizabeth I's England, which probably does much to explain the insecurity and vulnerability of Shakespeare's Othello. Catch Don Giovanni if you can, and don't miss OHP's first revival, their triumphant 2003 Fidelio, running in tandem with the Don. Peter Grahame Woolf Photo: Fritz Curzon, OHP: The Commendatore arrives for dinner etc |