opera – The Orbital

What Can the Royal Opera House Do For You?

17Dec

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

What Can the Royal Opera House Do For You?

Situated in Covent Garden, the current Royal Opera House is the third building to stand in the area after the two previous theatres burned down in a fire. The second re-opening kicked off with the royal seal of approval and a new name ‘the Royal Italian Opera House’. After hosting composers such as Handel and Michael Costa, the Royal Opera House was growing in both audience and repertoire. It was renamed once again to what we know now as ‘the Royal Opera House’ after it sadly burned down for the second time. However this has not affected its popularity as it now covers over two acres – from main stage to rehearsal studio… But over the years words such as ‘Elitist’, ‘snobby’ and ‘highbrow’ have been used to describe ballet, opera and other art forms on display at the Royal Ope...

Savoy Kicks Off Half-Centenary with ‘Pirates Of Penzance’

21Mar

By George SomersNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

Savoy Kicks Off Half-Centenary with ‘Pirates Of Penzance’

"Everyone we capture says he's an orphan. The last three ships we took proved to be manned entirely by orphans, and so we had to let them go. One would think that Great Britain's mercantile navy was recruited solely from her orphan asylums — which we know is not the case." With Holloway’s oldest society celebrating its golden anniversary, it seems fitting for Savoy to open 2016 with one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best-known operettas: ‘Pirates of Penzance’. Brilliantly witty, self-mockingly fickle and proposing possibly the most ingenious ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card in theatrical history (when in doubt, declare your adoration of Queen Vic), ‘Pirates’ has everything we’ve come to expect from a comic Savoy production: superb vocals, charming silliness and Will Davidson’s amusing variety of...

28Jan

By Emma BradleyNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

Understanding Opera; Misconception & Snobbery

In its prime, opera was considered in much the same way as we now think of cinema. So what keeps so many young people away from opera today? Two obvious reasons are the initial uncertainty of watching entertainment in a foreign language, and perception of opera being exclusively geared to a wealthy elite. However, there are more subtle prejudgements surrounding the genre, such as how popular music today is linked to a more free and casual vocal style as opposed to the vocal precision and intensity of opera. With this in mind, how do we go about dealing with the issue of inaccessibility in opera? Is it more important to have an audience who can access and experience more of the work, or respect the composer’s original opera? Taking libretto (the operatic text) as an example; the composer...

28Jan

By Jake Kitley-GibbonsNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Leaping off the stage: How Ballet and Opera are taking risks to capture a new audience

With the success of shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, and dance classes becoming more popular as a work out style, what can be done to make ballet more accessible to an audience that isn’t stuffy? Sadler’s Wells teamed with English National Ballet seems to have come up with the genius answer. New ballets! Instead of dusting off The Nutcracker, Swan Lake or The Carmen, instead commissions are coming thick and fast for shows that can captivate a modern audience. Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands, based on the Burton movie for example has already set the stage alight, with sold out shows for its six week Christmas run. That is not to say that The Nutcracker or family favourite Swan Lake are no longer seen, instead they are reimagined into Grease like car shops, gay fantasias or comedies...