"The small touring opera company without equal in Britain" - Opera Now
The Garden Opera
Pagliacci & Mozart
The Show...
I’m sure you’ve already read up on our production this year but in case you’ve missed us somehow here’s a reminder of one of our most adventurous outings to date!
This summer our company of world-class singers are transformed into a riotous troupe of players who have taken take on a world premiere: the unique pairing of Mozart’s hilarious Impresario and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. In this original dramatic interpretation that we’ve titled The Clowns, the two works are merged: the Impresario serves as a prequel - the first act in a story about the fates and loves of Leoncavallo’s famous clowns. For the first time in operatic history Pagliacci is an Opera in two parts and its tragic denouement is offset brilliantly by opening the story with Mozart’s breezy pastiche. With the Impresario our vagabonds will present the Opera world stripped bare, with its pretensions, sky rocketing egos and blind optimism laid out for all to see. A side-splitting ‘casting couch’ comedy teeming with outlandish characters and sexual innuendo…
After the hilarity of Mozart at his most playful we’ll enter the inner world of the players in I Pagliacci. The veneer of performance is stripped away from our group of travelling clowns and the spotlight turns on their own lives. Leoncavallo's masterpiece is one of the most popular standards of operatic repertoire and a splendid example of the ‘verissimo’ operatic style that is perfectly suited to Garden Opera’s intimate and highly unique approach.
A story about what might lie behind the clown’s smile…
Here’s a selection of feedback from our audiences:
We very much enjoyed the visit as did our son and granddaughter…high marks for ingenuity
What a delightful evening… you made music which was a joy to the ears. In tune, wonderful voices and accomplished players all blended and balanced well. Humour, romance and tragedy combined to entertain, pull at the heart strings and bring a tear to the eye.
