Opera Holland Park 2021 will open on 1 June with new productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen and Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz. There will also be a revival of the company’s hugely successful 2018 staging of Verdi’s La Traviata.
Three former OHP Young Artists take leading roles in Figaro. Elizabeth Karani sings quick-witted servant Susanna, Nardus Williams sings the neglected Countess and Julien Van Mellaerts is the lustful Count. They are joined by the entertaining baritone Ross Ramgobin as Figaro.
The production will be conducted by George Jackson, directed by Oliver Platt and designed by takis, who is also responsible for the innovative new-look summer theatre. Evening performances are on 1, 4, 10, 12, 16, 18, 22, 24 and 26 June at 7.15pm
Soprano Lauren Fagan wil sing Violetta again in Verdi's La Traviata. Photo: Robert Workman
Soprano Lauren Fagan reprises her role as Violetta in Rodula Gaitanou’s highly-acclaimed La Traviata returns in revival, conducted by Matthew Kofi Waldren, who has a special feeling for Italian opera, and with tenor Matteo Desole and baritone Stephen Gadd also returning, as Violetta's lover, and as her lover's father.
Evening performances of Traviata are on 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 23, 25 and 29 June at 7.30pm.
The second new production of the 2021 Season is The Cunning Little Vixen, sung in English. Stephen Barlow, who has previously directed Tosca and Flight for OHP, returns to Opera Holland Park, with Jennifer France as the resourceful Vixen and Julia Sporsén as the predatory Fox. The singers were last seen together at OHP in the 2018 production of Ariadne auf Naxos. Jessica Cottis conducts.
Evening performances of Vixen are on 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, 28 and 30 July at 7.30pm.
Adele Thomas makes her OHP debut directing a new production of Mascagni’s romantic comedy, L’Amico Fritz, alongside the Italian conductor, Beatrice Venezi. Kiandra Howarth leads the cast as Suzel, the girl next door who captures Fritz’s heart.
Evening performances of L'Amico Fritz are on 16, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29 and 31 July at 8pm.
Ross Ramgobin, who entertained at Opera Holland Park's Christmas party, plays Figaro in Mozart's opera
A co-production of The Pirates of Penzance with Charles Court Opera, directed by John Savournin, stars Savournin, a master of comedy, with Yvonne Howard and Richard Burkhard. Originally scheduled for 2020, it closes the main season. Performances are on 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 August at 7.30pm.
Capacity in the airy auditorium will be reduced from 1000 to 400 seats this season, using individual chairs that can be moved according to the numbers in each household bubble, to enable social distancing and increase step-free access.
Sustainable materials in takis’s designs reflect the natural beauty of the theatre’s setting in Holland Park. The Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning City of London Sinfonia returns as resident orchestra. Additional performances include those aimed at families discovering opera together and relaxed events.
The company still hopes to mount the postponed 2020 productions , including Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Verdi's Rigoletto, at a later date, as the pandemic and artists' schedules allow.
The new, airier, Opera Holland Park design by takis
OHP's future has been helped by the generosity of many supporters, who left the money for this year's ticket purchases in the kitty, or made donations. As a result, artists this year have been paid.
Off-stage, OHP takes many roles in the community. Inspire, its International Opera Award-winning education and outreach project, is continuing to work throughout the current health crisis with local partners including Age UK, using digital technology to reach isolated communities. There have been musical afternoons and tea parties for older audiences, workshops for local schoolchildren, and online OperaUNITY workshops for toddlers are being streamed until the summer.
Booking for The Marriage of Figaro, La Traviata, L’amico Fritz, The Cunning Little Vixen and The Pirates of Penzance opens Wed14 April at 10am. Priority booking for OHP members and supporters opens Wed 24 Feb
| What | Opera Holland Park 2021 |
| Where | Opera Holland Park, Stable Yard, Holland Park, London , W8 6LU | MAP |
| Nearest tube | High Street Kensington (underground) |
| When |
01 Jun 21 – 07 Aug 21, Five productions, times vary |
| Price | £22-£110 |
| Website | Click here for more information and booking |
