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"[...] For a semi-pro venture, Hampstead Garden Opera is surprisingly
good, ambitious and innovative; and its autumn show, staged as usual at the Gatehouse, Highgate,
was a double bill that paired Purcell's
Dido (which everyone does) with John Blow's exactly contemporary
Venus and Adonis (which almost no one does). And hearing them back to back made me wonder why this coupling
isn't standard
[...] The two pieces make a broadly convenient fit in style and story. Both are about abruptly terminated love.
Both leave a woman on the stage alone, without her man
[...] And this production drew them even closer by superimposing a modern-day
narrative that played one as a sequel to the other
[...] There were commendable performances from
Lucy de Butts
in the double role of Cupid/Belinda,
Christina Petrou
as Venus,
Rebecca Henning
and
Taylor Ott
as a pair of decidedly perky witches,
and above all from
Helen Bailey
as a warm and secure Dido who delivered her lament in an
interesting way: not as grand tragedy but as the pale, exhausted monologue of someone numbed by grief.
And why not? In this production it was, after all, her second time unlucky."
– Michael White for
Catholic Herald.
Read the full review
"[...] Audience reaction suggested my absorbed pleasure throughout the evening as widely shared.
The productions generated consistent audience involvement with immediately believable characters,
far from the idealized classical figures so often portrayed.
[...]
Musical and dramatic standards were impressive.
They amply met what must have been substantial demands from the conductor
(
Oliver-John Ruthven
) and producer/director.
Lucy Roberts
(Venus),
Henry Deacon
(Adonis),
Anna Whyte
(Cupid/Belinda),
Emma Watkinson
(Dido)
and
Ashley Riches
(Aeneas) had most chance to shine, and took it fully,
but all other cast members also gave exemplary performances.
The
Dionysus Ensemble
(just six musicians this time) played with great
feeling and understanding."
– Ed Gordon for
BUZZ.
Read the full review
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"The best discovery so far of my time as music critic on this newspaper is Hampstead Garden Opera - a small, largely amateur company but assured, competent and ambitious."
– Michael White for Ham & High. Read the full review
"The musical tour-de-force in the piece is Susannah's aria,
The Trees on the Mountain,
which was sung with stunning grace and power by Helen Bailey. [...]
Because the drama works and because the music is so vivid and accessible,
I'm convinced that Susannah is a great opera to attract new audiences to the genre,
and I'm surprised that it's hardly ever been performed here in Britain."
– David Karlin for Bachtrack. Read the full review
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