From West Sussex County Times:
Margot Campbell in the title role of Floria Tosca was
outstanding. She is an operatic soprano of the highest calibre with
a beautifully produced voice and a wonderful sense of phrasing,
surely a prima donna in the making. As Calvaradossi the painter,
John McGregor Murray with his fine tenor voice gave a musically
persuasive performance in a carefully considered portrayal. The
chief of police, Scarpia, offered Craig Smith a splendid
opportunity to demonstrate both the eveil and corrupt as well as
the tender, in his dealings with Tosca. With a fine stage presence
coupled with his attractive singing voice, this was a well
characterised performance. Andrew Thody gave a thoughtful
performance as the political prisoner Angelotti and Lawrence Reed
was an engaging Sacristan. The chorus, assisted by the Children's
Chorus from the Emerald Music School in Sutton, produced a good
tone quality. The orchestral playing was of a high standard and the
conductor, Jonathan Butcher, gave a well paced reading of the
score.
Derek Graham wrote: At the Harlequin they played to a full
house but with the quality of their productions, this was hardly
surprising... The lead role was sung by Sarah-Jane Dale, who
recently represented Britain in an opera competition in St
Petersburg. Her Tosca was a faultless performance, in which her
acting was to the same standard as her singing, her facial
expressions showing well the torments she was suffering. Her
rendition of ``Vissi D'Arte'' (I live for art) was superb and
brought prolonged applause fom the audience... Modern tourists
wandered about (chorus) a superb children's choir (from the Emerald
Music School) sang as they moved through the church and Lawrence
Reed gave an impressive performance as the Sacristan... Surrey
Opera's greatest problen is finding the money for these wonderful
productions which nearly always end in the red. Jonathan Butcher,
who conducted, is appealing for opera lovers to become Surrey Opera
Supporters. Their subscriptions that twice a year we can enjoy
opera of a very high standard locally.
Surrey Opera is a registered charity (no. 1000831)
Enquiries tel. 01293 532692
Last modified 25th March 2002
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