Did you enjoy a performance?
Barber is now touring throughout the UK, we would love to hear from you….
If you have anything to tell us about a performance or talk please leave your comments here
Barber is now touring throughout the UK, we would love to hear from you….
If you have anything to tell us about a performance or talk please leave your comments here
We thoroughly enjoyed your Barber of Seville at Winchester last week. Excellent band, wonderful singing and great acting/stage sense enhanced by a brilliant multi-purpose set. To be honest, we thought your performance more entertaining than the 2016 Glyndebourne production.
Please carry on bringing your excellent company to the provinces..
Thank you for writing and for the lovely comments, I will let the company know it will give them a real boost!
I really enjoyed your Barber of Seville at Yeovil’s Octagon last night. How great to have live opera in our small town miles from the nearest opera house. The singers were all excellent with Jessica Robinson’s performance being especially memorable as she not only has a lovely voice but her acting was superb making for a delicious combination.Aidan Coburn has a great voice too and his love-making was suitably impassioned (though I should love to have seen the state of their marriage after 5 years or so!) I remember Paul Hudson as a superb Don Pasquale a few years ago and it was great to hear his rich voice again but why was his face covered in soot-coloured make-up rather than the usual white & rosy of the 18th century? One thought: the choreography could have been better. At times the performers’ movement across the stage was a bit muddled especially when the chorus was there and I feel that good choreography could have added more to the comedy. Do you have your own choreographer? Also, we couldn’t always hear the words not that the plot was difficult to follow. What we could hear was a great translation. Of course best of all was the lovely music, especially the many lovely arias and the wonderful set pieces where several performers sang together. A great evening; please keep up the good work. I hope Swansea City will revise its funding decision as you are a great advertisement for the city – possibly better than Swansea city Fotball Club with its struggles!
We attended the performance of Barber of Seville at the Stiwt, Rhosllanerchrugog. The whole evening was most enjoyable, the pre-performance talk and the opera itself. The venue was nearby (about 2 miles). We have been to previous productions of Swansea City Opera in Shrewsbury + Pwllheli and have always enjoyed them so knew of the reputation of the company. We are seniors and enjoy classical music and opera. The production was splendid, the singers and the orchestra; I was able to speak briefly to the conductor afterwards and thank him for the contribution of the orchestra. which added greatly to our enjoyment of the production. We will be very likely to attend another opera if the opportunity arises.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on our evening at the opera.
Lovely to hear that you support us so much and thank you for writing, all the company will be very pleased.
Quite simply a Tour de Force ! Enjoyed every minute. Glad we attended pre- show talk. It was both entertaining and very informative. Congratulations to all your highly talented team including stage and costume designers. Lovely to have live quality music.
A huge BRAVO!
Please come back to the Isle of Man very soon.!…to our beautiful Frank Matcham theatre.
Thank you so much for writing! I’ll let the cast know and I hope we are able to come back to Douglas next year. Such a beautiful theatre…..
What a splendid evening and thank you for travelling over the water to visit us in the Isle of Man. It was a real joy to see such a wonderful production in our lovely Gaiety Theatre. The production and singing were wonderful. We look forward to your return.
We’re thrilled that you enjoyed it and we will try our hardest to come back again. The Gaiety was meant for live opera!
Thank you for a great performance in Pwllheli Neuadd Dwyfor. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing I regret is that there were so few people. Please don’t let that stop you from coming back!
We’ve just enjoyed your fabulous production of the Barber of Seville in Keswick.
The pre show talk really set the scene and the entire evening was one of rollicking good fun – including the fire alarm alert.
A very well cast production and all on stage seemed to be enjoying it as much as the audience.
We shall seek you out again!
Thank you for writing, we’ll try our hardest to come back, we waiting to hear about our funding at the moment.
Thank you, so pleased you enjoyed it and please do seek us out again!
Attended the performance at the Theatre by the Lake on 28th April,and it was sold out. Need performances of this calibre in smaller halls throughout the country if the larger opera companies are to flourish.
The soloist were excellent, living up to their individual CV’s Because I was a later attender I had a commanding view of the Musical Director his input and control was impressive. See again,hopefully soon.
Well it was with a fair bit of trepidation and a dash of nerves, that my friend and I took our seats for the pre-talk to the performance of Swansea City Opera’s The Barber of Seville. Why? Simply because we were Opera virgins ! More accustomed to the atmospheric build up to a major band rock concert than the sedate filling of the stalls and circle in the small but perfectly formed Lakeside Theatre Keswick..
So it was with great relief that Brendan Wheatley Artistic Director, took to the floor in front of us to explain the whys the wherefores and the mechanics of what we were about to witness. This was both informative , interesting, and not without humour! A worthy and highly reccomended intro that eased us into the world of Opera .
To the actual performance, a comedy, skilfully translated/ adapted into English by Bridgett Gill, to which we were truly grateful, being our first time it was fantastic to actually understand the music!
The whole package, from the music, the mini orchestra, in perfect harmony with the on stage performers which added extra life, and comic suggestion to the performance. The use of colourful costume,again providing comic relief (the interaction between Don Bartolo and the oversized hat of Don Basilio). Also the clever use of the plague masks that provided a historical link to the city of Seville which saw a quarter of its population devastated by this terrible event, provided proof of a well thought of and executed performance. This together with the use of suggestive scenery,not overpowering, but a compliment which worked well with the cast to enhance a fantastic theatre experience. All of which packed down into a three and a half ton van!
Well done! Your obvious heart felt endeavours have paid off, what a fabulous evening that had us crying with laughter from the outset (the Angus Young AC/DC wannabe on the mandolin) Bravo,two new tentative recruits to the fold, The Marriage of Figaro here we come!
Thank you very much for writing, what you say is very pertinent and we agree how important it is to expose everyone to a high standard of opera, as happens in many European countries such as Austria, Germany and Italy where there are many provincial opera houses. Sadly in Britain by the age of 5 it seems most people are conditioned to regard opera as elitist and only for ‘posh’ people… it is so far from the truth as it a wonderful art form that should be for everyone. It is also beholden on the main opera companies not to alienate their audiences with productions that are unintelligible.
It’s always great to have new converts to opera, we wish so many more people would follow your example and take the plunge into the wonderful world of opera. Thank you so much for writing, it makes all our travails worthwhile!
We experienced your wonderful production of Barber in Harrogate last week. Many congratulations to you all – singers, imaginative and effective scenery, costumes and band – all were excellent. Thank you and please keep up these great provincial tours – we enjoyed every minute of it!
Thank you so much for writing, lovely to hear you enjoyed it and we will try our best to return next year!
We saw the performance in Harrogate too and really enjoyed it! So much energy, wonderful staging, a fantastic orchestra and of course fabulous singing. A very witty production, couldn’t have been bettered! Thank you
Thank you so much for writing and I’m really pleased you enjoyed the show!
What a great performance of Cosi Fan Tutti at Bridlington Spa last night! The singing was wonderful, as were the orchestra. Whole production was fantastic – we were very fortunate to have such talent visiting us in a small sleepy seaside town! I wish you all the best for future productions and of course with the ever increasingly difficult funding.
Thank you so much Hilary, it’s great to hear you enjoyed the performance