CLASSICAL
Grange Park Opera, Surrey Until July 18
The great thing about this hugely enjoyable production of Verdi’s Falstaff is not that Bryn Terfel is so good, but that Wasfi Kani, Grange Park’s guruin-chief, has assembled a cast that, for the most part, he doesn’t embarrassingly outclass.
Bryn’s Falstaff is surely now his signature role. It suits both his voice and his temperament. His Fat Knight will be fondly remembered long after he has retired to some mountain fastness in Snowdonia.
It was a stroke of genius to persuade another Welsh personage of increasing renown, Swansea’s Natalya Romaniw (right), to abandon all the dramatic stuff to take on the pivotal comic role of Alice Ford. She obviously enjoys it, and we certainly enjoyed her.
David Stout as her husband Ford sings out of his skin throughout, especially at the beginning of Act 2. Chloe Morgan and Luis Gomes are two ardent young lovers. Yes, with the odd deficiency, this casting really works.
The BBC Concert Orchestra may not be as sophisticated as the Philharmonia were at Garsington last week, but they play their hearts out for Grange Park regular Gianluca Marciano.
Stephen Medcalf’s stagings can be eccentric, but this revival from Parma shows both him and his designer Jamie Vartan in fine fettle, with a minimalist, Tudor-inspired staging and some classy period costumes.
Throughout an impressive evening, the first-class acoustics of Wasfi’s Surrey La Scala allow some glorious sound to be appreciated throughout the multi-tiered auditorium.
What a shame then that Government regulations mean they can’t sell every ticket.
I thought vaccinations were supposed to end this nonsense.