TRIAL BY JURY

at St James' Concert Hall, Guernsey 2001

'The costumes were the first aspect to strike the eye, with some quite spectacular hats. All the singers - and what a talented bunch they are, with quality all the way down the batting order - derived the maximum fun from their parts. Richard Suart showed himself to be a natural comedian...he held the audience in the palm of his hand.'

 

 

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DON GIOVANNI

at St James' Concert Hall, Guernsey 2001

'D'Arcy Bleiker played the title role as if it had been written for him. Byronically handsome, exuding animal energy, with a fine singing voice, he brought charisma to the St. James' auditorium when Diva Opera staged their latest perfomance there.'

 

 

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CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA

at Domaine des Vaux Opera Festival, Jersey

'The power of their superb voices was used with passion and the complete absobtion of every member of the cast drew the audience into the heart of the melodrama'

The costumes and attention to the detail of 'the production were superb' 'It is hard to pick out favourites in a company that works so closely together but the passion of Anne Marabini Young in Cavalleria Rusticana and the sheer power of Khosrow Mahsoori in Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci swept everyone into the story being acted out before them'

 

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE

at The Festival de L’Epau, May 2000

'All the performers were excellent and the vast abbey was filled to capacity. Diva Opera, great specialists in chamber opera, did Mozart's masterpiece full justice: the dynamic group seemed as much inspired by Schikaneder's bizarre tale as by the music.

The accompaniment, played on the piano alone by Music Director Bryan Evans remained faithful to the original orchestral intentions and the singers respected the subtleties of their arias perfectly.

Meanwhile a merry succession of props, gags, gestures and symbols underlined the ambiguity of the opera in a most imaginative way.

Naturally one may have preferred Papageno to the Prince, Pamina to the Queen of the Night, but the piece evolved smoothly, its unity never shaken by the various ingenious parts of the delightful rostra, a sort of treasure chest full of surprises.

 

 

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La Traviata

at the Festival de L’Epau, May 2000

Lead by an unruffled Bryan Evans on the piano, each singer played his or her part to perfection and, as with the Magic Flute one marvelled at the perfect cohesion between the music director and each of his singers, a unity never disturbed by the very active staging.

The three main roles, Violetta, Alfredo and Germont, were sung by three beautiful voices and each of their arias received much acclaim; the other characters also made a great impact and carried their interpretation off with ease.

Catherine Mikic as Violetta moved the public, in some cases to tears: tribute of the highest kind to these English performers who, on successive nights, lit up the Festival.

 

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L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI

at Les Azuriales
Opera Festival, August 2000

Thanks to pianist Bryan Evans, the orchestral texture has a brilliant, light, almost tasty new ring to it.

As far as the voices are concerned, Christine Buffle as Elvira displays some fantastic coloratura yet does not neglect the dramatic side of her character. Antonia Sotgiu sings with a brilliant timbre and a peremptory tone. Wayne Morris as Mustapha plays the sensual lover with opulent tone and precision.

 

 

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LA TRAVIATA

at Les Azuriales
Opera Festival, August 2000

The real success of this production owes much to the collaboration of soprano Catherine Mikic, baritone Anthony Marber and music director Bryan Evans.

On the one hand, Violetta showed great sensitivity combined with a beautiful timbre, elegant phrasing and near perfect Italian: on the other hand, the stylish Germont gave a moving and passionate characterisation to his role, remaining committed throughout his singing as well.

As for Bryan Evans at the piano, his playing has always been of the highest quality and the greatest continuity since the creation of the Azuriales Festival. His subtlety excludes any form of mawkish sentimentality and his accompaniment blends perfectly with the dramatic context. He has clearly found his own niche to develop his talent.

The small, but at this level unrivalled chorus also deserves praise for its involvement. Each contribution adds weight, tension and unsuspected truth to this production and the result is an almost heartbreaking atmosphere.

 

DON GIOVANNI AND LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN

at Les Azuriales Opera Festival, Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat 2001

'At the stunning location of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild just above St. Jean Cap Ferrat, with its glorious central patio and statue-filled garden, a star has been rising. Alycia Fashae made her mark last year as Leila in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers for the English National Opera. Now she has impressed even more with a gloriously-sung Donna Anna in the energetic Diva Opera production of Mozart's Don Giovanni and as Antonia in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, directed by crack pianist Bryan Evans.

Don Giovanni, directed by Diva's director of productions Wayne Morris, was clear and straightforward after the travesty of a staging I witnessed from ENO at the Coliseum earlier this summer. Bryan Evans's piano truly sounded like an orchestra and the cast performed with conviction and great musicianship. Alongside Alycia Fashae, the outstanding performances were by D'Arcy Bleiker, as a swaggering rich toned Don, and Noel Mann as a saturnine Leporello.

Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann was a more ambitious undertaking...Evans triumphed again and there were strong performances; Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts was a sonorous Hoffmann, Alycia Fashae sang gorgeously as Antonia and promising young Swedish mezzo Catrin Johnsson sang and acted with great conviction as Hoffmann's muse Nicklaus.'

 

 

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LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

at Les Azuriales
Opera Festival, August 1999

This summer the third festival has just taken place with performances of Mozart's Le Nozze de Figaro, a double bill of Poulene's La Voix Humaine and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, and a Verdi gala, given in the round in the villa's grandiose patio in the Etruscan style, with dinner served outdoors afterwards in the magnificent formal gardens adorned with topiary and statues.

The company used is Diva Opera, an enterprising young British group under the music directorship of Bryan Evans, who accompanies the singers at the piano in fully staged productions of the operas.

'Diva Opera was set up as a rival to Pavilion Opera, where Bryan Evans was previously music director, and works along similar lines, though with rather more established and experienced singers. The audience sits around the four sides of a playing area about 25 foot square, in close proximity to the singers, with the pianist at the top end. Though there is no scenery as such, the cast are fully costumed and there are all the appropriate props and furniture.'

Admirably accompanied by Evans, this was an assured production with confident singing and incisive acting. Stars of the show were Figaro and Susanna, admirably taken by Timothy Dawkins and Giselle Minns, two young singers with splendid voices who exuded dramatic confidence. Young mezzo soprano Jeanette Ager, though lacking stage experience, revealed considerable vocal promise as Cherubino, and there was strong singing from Riccardo Simonetti's Count and Dominique Thiébaud's slightly stolid Countess.

The performance clearly involved its audience there were more laughs than one usually hears in a bigger house - and tension seldom flagged.'

Article by David Fingleton for 'The Spectator' 4th September 1999

 

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DON PASQUALE

at Stationers Hall for The European Academy for the Arts

You gave us a splendid evening. Every- one was full of praise and appreciation for the performance, the set and the mostinteresting production. The professionalismand enthusiasm of all the membersof Diva Opera was a joy, producing an effortless and professional performance.

Article by Rosa Maria Letts, Director