Theatre review: A Midsummer Night's Dream beguiles in Lismore
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Lismore; County Waterford
★★★★★
With an idyllic backdrop of a castle worthy of a fairytale, Britten's Shakespearean opera delving into an enchanted world of mischief and magic was an ideal choice for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival. Many elements combined to beguile in this production on a summer night in Lismore, not least the weather which stayed fair throughout.
Director Patrick Mason's production sets the drama in two eras. The fairies are dressed in Elizabethan costumes, shimmering in silver while the mortal lovers evoke the 60s — the decade when the opera premiered at Aldeburgh.
The 'rustic craftsmen' don bowler hats for a Morris dance accompanied by a fairy recorder ensemble, (the excellent Piccolo Lasso Children's Chorus). Festival director, Dieter Kaegi assembled a large ensemble of young Irish and international artists active in the European opera scene. Actor, Barry McGovern adds gravitas in the speaking role of Puck.
Barry McGovern as Puck. Picture: Frances Marshall
Underpinning the drama, the Irish Chamber Orchestra under David Brophy was terrific, giving a solid instrumental foundation throughout. It was good to see an ensemble back in front of the singers and not tucked away to the side. There is much exposed writing for solo instruments; trumpet and horns excelled — and the opening bass glissandi set the mood of magic and menace from the opening bars.
Aside from the headline opera productions, there was much to enjoy with an attractive programme of events over the week. At St Carthage's Cathedral, baritone Rory Dunne and soprano Amy Hewitt impressed in the rarely heard one act operetta; The Tinker and the Fairy with music by Michele Esposito and libretto by Douglas Hyde.
Later, writer George Bernard Shaw was the focus of an entertaining programme featuring the voices of Gemma Ní Bhriain and Sean Tester. While the closing numbers from My Fair Lady would have benefitted from a lighter touch, the acerbic wit of Shaw's reviews and the songs of Oscar Straus from The Chocolate Soldier drew the loudest cheers from the house.
It is good to see the festival continue to build momentum in its 15th year in one of Ireland's most beautiful settings.
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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Theatre review: A Midsummer Night's Dream beguiles in Lismore
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Lismore; County Waterford ★★★★★ With an idyllic backdrop of a castle worthy of a fairytale, Britten's Shakespearean opera delving into an enchanted world of mischief and magic was an ideal choice for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival. Many elements combined to beguile in this production on a summer night in Lismore, not least the weather which stayed fair throughout. Director Patrick Mason's production sets the drama in two eras. The fairies are dressed in Elizabethan costumes, shimmering in silver while the mortal lovers evoke the 60s — the decade when the opera premiered at Aldeburgh. The 'rustic craftsmen' don bowler hats for a Morris dance accompanied by a fairy recorder ensemble, (the excellent Piccolo Lasso Children's Chorus). Festival director, Dieter Kaegi assembled a large ensemble of young Irish and international artists active in the European opera scene. Actor, Barry McGovern adds gravitas in the speaking role of Puck. Barry McGovern as Puck. Picture: Frances Marshall Underpinning the drama, the Irish Chamber Orchestra under David Brophy was terrific, giving a solid instrumental foundation throughout. It was good to see an ensemble back in front of the singers and not tucked away to the side. There is much exposed writing for solo instruments; trumpet and horns excelled — and the opening bass glissandi set the mood of magic and menace from the opening bars. Aside from the headline opera productions, there was much to enjoy with an attractive programme of events over the week. At St Carthage's Cathedral, baritone Rory Dunne and soprano Amy Hewitt impressed in the rarely heard one act operetta; The Tinker and the Fairy with music by Michele Esposito and libretto by Douglas Hyde. Later, writer George Bernard Shaw was the focus of an entertaining programme featuring the voices of Gemma Ní Bhriain and Sean Tester. While the closing numbers from My Fair Lady would have benefitted from a lighter touch, the acerbic wit of Shaw's reviews and the songs of Oscar Straus from The Chocolate Soldier drew the loudest cheers from the house. It is good to see the festival continue to build momentum in its 15th year in one of Ireland's most beautiful settings.
Irish Times
29-05-2025
- Irish Times
A Midsummer Night's Dream at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival 2025: Vocally sure singing, but has a revamp muted Britten's orchestral magic?
A Midsummer Night's Dream Blackwater Valley Opera Festival ★★★☆☆ How things change. Back in 2010 the first Lismore Music Festival, today's Blackwater Valley Opera Festival , presented sure-fire repertoire – Bizet's Carmen, with Fiona Murphy heading the cast of 10 in the title role – in a marquee in the stable yard of Lismore Castle, with an ensemble of violin, accordion, guitar, double bass and percussion standing in for the colourful orchestral score. Move on 15 years and the festival is offering Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream with a cast of 19 and the Irish Chamber Orchestra conducted by David Brophy, with nearly five times as many musicians in the pit. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Piccolo Lasso, Ami Hewitt and Dominic Veilleux. Photograph: Frances Marshall The stage area is transformed this year. A raised platform now covers the entire performance area, not only allowing for greater freedom of movement but also creating a pit for the orchestra at floor level. (The tiny Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh, where Britten's opera was first performed, in June 1960, also had to be enlarged and improved to accommodate the work.) The festival has made cosmetic improvements, too, with better-looking seating – which, strangely, is less comfortable because of the way it tilts forward – and black ceiling drapes, which give a softer interior appearance; sadly, they seem to do little or nothing to damp the percussive onslaught of rain on opening night on Wednesday. READ MORE So far so good. What about the production itself, directed by Patrick Mason and designed by Paul Keogan (set and lighting) and Catherine Fay (costumes)? It's a handsome, brightly lit show, the central, white-curtained bed about as close as it gets to any suggestion of night, and with different social levels distinguished through costumes of different periods. The actor Barry McGovern's black-clad Puck, wielding a white feather/wand/baton, falls somewhere between master of ceremonies, wizard and wannabe conductor. The soprano Ami Hewitt's beautifully bewigged Tytania sweeps and soars in style and manages a suppleness of vocal line that is otherwise in short supply. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Barry McGovern. Photograph: Frances Marshall A Midsummer Night's Dream: David Brophy and Irish Chamber Orchestra. Photograph: Frances Marshall The voice of the countertenor Iestyn Morris is too ethereal for his Oberon to make a real impression, sounding mostly insubstantial rather than atmospheric. The various couples – Christopher Cull and Gemma Ní Bhriain as Theseus and Hippolyta, Peter O'Reilly and Sarah Richmond as Lysander and Hermia, and Gregory Feldmann and Amy Ní Fhearraigh as Demetrius and Helena – are more engaging, vocally sure and with real tension in the conflicts they experience as a result of the love-inducing magic juice that mismatches them. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Amy Ní Fhearraigh, Gregory Feldmann, Peter O'Reilly, Sarah Richmond and Dominic Veilleux. Photograph: Frances Marshall A Midsummer Night's Dream: Ami Hewitt and Dominic Veilleux. Photograph: Frances Marshall The mechanicals are a damp squib when going through the preparations for their play within a play but altogether livelier in their performance of that comedy. The Bottom of the bass-baritone Dominic Veilleux revels in the comic opportunities afforded him as the ass Tytania is made to fall in love with. But, musically, there is something pallid about the performance. I'm not sure that this is entirely the fault of either singers or conductor. The voices don't carry well, and the orchestra is often so soft and muted that much of Britten's orchestral magic fails to register. My seat near the back may have played a part, but my primary suspicion is that the drapes just absorb too much sound in a space that's already severely acoustically challenged. A Midsummer Night's Dream is at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival , Lismore, Co Waterford, on Friday, May 30th, Saturday, May 31st, and Sunday, June 1st; the festival runs until Monday, June 2nd
Irish Independent
22-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Irish Chamber Orchestra and renowned pianist to play Beethoven compositions at Kerry venue
Mr Bezuidenhout is returning for his third collaboration with the orchestra for the next instalment of his much-anticipated Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle The South African-born pianist brings his own blend of brilliance to Beethoven's music and, following on the success of Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3 in October 2023, he is turning his attention to Piano Concertos 2 and 4. Each piece promises to be a dramatic dialogue between Bezuidenhout and the orchestra, from fierce defiance to tender vulnerability while pushing boundaries with bold, expressive depth. Piano Concerto 2 is said to sparkle with youthful charm and wit while Concerto 4 is said to be intimate and emotional before soaring to a radiant finale. The Irish Chamber Orchestra and Kristian Bezuidenhout will play the Tralee venue on Friday, June 20. Tickets can be purchased online for €28.50 (retired/unwaged: €26) plus booking fees at The Irish Chamber Orchestra will play the University Concert Hall in Limerick on June 19 and The Whyte Recital Hall in Dublin on June 21.
