The Theatre Review ~ The Sleeping Beauty

Seen: 22nd February 2013

Rating: 5/5

Once again my sister heard that the English National Ballet were going to be Oxford and contacted my straight away informing me that I had no choice but to go. Luckily for me TidyBoy is a musician who loves his classical music... so convincing him to come to a ballet was easy! He did spend the production watching the conductor rather than the ballet but... he came!!

It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. In Vancouver I had seen the Nutcracker and Dracula with the Alberta Ballet, and my family had season tickets to Ballet BC. That’s all well and good but this was like nothing I had ever seen before. This was ballet on another level! It made me want to stretch and try it again! I don’t think I have any words to describe how much I adored this ballet. The fairies, the handsome Prince, and the cross-dressing witch L*O*V*E!

The Theatre Review ~ Tosca

Seen: 14th February 2013

Rating: 4.5/4 

(Still not Aida though!)

After seeing the Welsh National Opera in the same theatre a few months before I was not expecting much from this Ellen Kent’s production of Tosca. But, Alberta and I had decided what better way was there than to celebrate a single gurls Valentine’s Day then with a completely depressing opera! (Of course by then TidyBoy had come along... another story). 

I was so mistaken though this production was just breathtaking!

For me the entire production was made by Maria Tonina who played the title role. Her acting, her singing, her stage-presence, her EVERYTHING! She was phenomenal. She was the production. 

The opening act saw a little shaky Baron Scarpia, but the second act as the part grew he became alive. It got to the point that as soon as the actor Vladimir Dragos walked onstage all my hair stood on end. 

Ellen Kent created this atmosphere with her staging that just made the whole production alive. Not to be poetic, but the production came off the stage and reached up onto the balcony and pulled you into it. It was fantastic.