A rare gem shines in Holland Park
26 July 2013
Vespas, gelato sellers, brass bands, a children’s chorus, religious processions and an orgy… justwhat everyone needs in an opera!
It is always a joy when a rarity of the opera world receives a staging. Opera Holland Park has a reputation for reviving little-known repertoire and this year’s offering is no exception.
Though many may know some of the instrumental music from Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s opera, The Jewels of the Madonna, very few would actually know the opera in its entirety.
Martin Lloyd-Evans updates the action to the early 1950s with a set designed by Jamie Vartan’s. Peter Robinson and the City of London Sinfonia provide the musical accompaniment to a cast that includes Natalya Romaniw, Olafur Sigurdarson and Joel Montero’s Gennaro, bolstered by a chorus of almost sixty singers.
The Jewels of the Madonna plays in Holland Park through to 2nd of August.
In Wolf-Ferrari’s The Jewels of the Madonna Opera Holland Park have truly found a gem
Alexandra Coghlan, The Independent
A stonking great hit… a jewel in the Holland Park crown
5 Stars
Warwick Thompson, The Metro
Utterly compelling
Michael Coveney, WhatsOnStage
One of the operatic highlights of the year
Edward Bhesania, The Stage
If I were giving stars, it would be five.
Colin Anderson, www.classicalsource.com
OPERA HOLLAND PARK