Herald Review from Edinburgh…
Published on 31 Aug 2010 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rosslyn Chapel **** Shadwell Opera’s production of The Magic Flute, performed in Rosslyn Chapel, was one of the highlights of last year’s festival. This year the youthful company, formed by Cambridge students, has returned to the Fringe, staging that same production of Flute as well as a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Britten’s operatic take on Shakespeare is a more challenging prospect than Mozart’s magical work: musically more complex and less immediately appealing, it requires a strong ensemble cast and a very good orchestra. Shadwell’s production certainly fields the former; however, losing its orchestra and having to find new musicians at very short notice (the sort of circumstances any company would dread) has presented a challenge that the company could not entirely surmount. There is also a sense that Shadwell may have outgrown the surroundings of Rosslyn. It’s certainly an interesting venue and its small size gives the performance a wonderful sense of intimacy, but this production didn’t particularly engage with the space in the same way as did the original Magic Flute. Still, there is a lot to admire here, particularly in the strength and enthusiasm of the extremely fine cast. Most of the soloists cut their teeth as Cambridge choral scholars and it shows in the quality of the ensemble – these singers listen instead of just following the conductor. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the mechanicals’ play in the final act. Momentum can be starting to pall by this point, but the light-hearted exuberance of the youthful cast made this a wonderfully silly, entertaining account of Britten’s opera-within-an-opera. Rowena SmithA sweet dream from a nightmare scenario
