Opera in the Park Saturday 31st July 2010

Victoria Park was inundated with a large crowd eagerly anticipating the evening’s entertainment. The weather was fine and the sky was clear, perfect for those that brought a picnic. Opera in the Park was organised by Portsmouth City Council and this year they invited the Opera Company Hatstand Opera to take centre stage with 'Golden Moments from Opera' with frivolous results.

The mezzo soprano and compère Kirsty Young introduced the performers and guided the audience through the night's experience with great humour and character.

The opera highlights opened with Brindisi from La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, included the Flower Duet, from the famous opera Lakme by Leo Delibes widely popularised by the British Airways advert.

Another notable highlight was 'La ci darem' from the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opera 'Don Giovanni' which includes the ‘most famous chat up line in opera’, 'You lay your hand in mine, dear'[1]. The words being spoken by a wealthy lord to a young woman about to be married to a peasant in the hope she will elope with him.

Well explained and light hearted throughout one of the last numbers of the evening was a classic from the valleys, Tom Jones’s Delia, performed by the tenor Richard Lloyd Owen, soprano Toni Nunn and mezzo soprano Kirsty Young. The performance was true to Owen’s welsh roots.

The final piece was 'Champagne by Die Fledermaus by Strauss, rounding off a great evening with warmth and cheer. Raucous, loud and fun! Hatstand Opera was a real treat for the crowds. To keep up to date with the latest happenings with Hatstand Opera visit the website http://www.hatstandopera.co.uk/.

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[1] Translated fully as ‘There we will entwine our hands’.

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Hampshire/Portsmouth/PO6/News/Reviews-and-Features/172244-Opera-in-the-Park-Review-by-Lynda-Berrry