Sunday, June 14, 2009; Posted: 07:06 AM - by Ollie Fielding
Unicorn Theatre 20th-28th June
The concept of staging an opera for children, keeping it fun and accessible, is no easy task but Music Platform with the English Pocket Opera Company do so with great vigour. With a cast of just seven, a small orchestra of piano, French horn, clarinet and cello and of course the help of the audience, Rossini's beautiful opera is brought alive. Cinderella proves a good choice as the young audience are already familiar with the story and are able to quickly identify the characters, the Italian libretto has been translated into English and the bracelets of the opera have been restored to the slipper of the original fairytale.
The vocal performances are of a very high calibre and it is refreshing to see the cast do not shy away from using the full operatic style, Olivia Ray in the title role sings some wonderful arias. The performance takes a slapstick tone, a shame then that some of the motions seem more of an after thought than ‘in the moment', however, the comic expressions of Giles Davies as Dandini were very entertaining.
The set is cleverly conceived and is mirrored by the elaborate costumes, both are monochrome in style which makes the revealing of Cinderella at the ball in a dazzling gold gown even more striking.
EPOC's Rossini's Cinderella is a great way to get young people interested in opera, it is brilliant to see their hard work pay off and I have never seen opera receive such wild applause.
Ollie has always wanted to be involved in the theatre due to its ability to
motivate and inspire people. After graduating from Downing College,
University of Cambridge he now works as a freelance playwright and director
for the stage and his adaptations of classic children's novels have won
critical acclaim. At the end of 2008 he assistant directed a new adaptation
of a Philip Pullman novel. He has a great passion for Family and Children's
theatre, having never actually grown up.
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