Opera at Kentwell

Kentwell offers lively high quality Opera in a stunning setting. Regular opera goers will find that Kentwell adds charm, romance and beauty to outstanding performances. To those new to Opera, a Kentwell opera performance is a relaxing and easy introduction to Opera which are accessible to all and performed in a lively and entertaining manner.

Madame Butterfly

I admit it. This is my favourite opera.

Madame Butterfly is (unlike much Grand Opera) a heart wrenchingly believable tale of a 19th C. American sailor's deception of a Japanese geisha while he was stationed for a time in Japan. It is distinguished by some of the most hauntingly lyrical music ever written. If this this may seem unjustified hyperbole, then reader you must excuse the enthusiasm of one for whom this opera never palls. It does not just have one lovely melody but a succession of them and the final haunting One Fine Day is without compare. So bring your hanky. Opera Box brought this Opera to Kentwell some years ago and it was a most magical evening. I can't wait to see and hear this new production.

Short Synopsis

Set in the region of Nagasaki and said to be based on events that actually occurred there in the 1890s, ‘Madama Butterfly’ is a sad tale of innocence betrayed.

Upon his arrival in Japan, the callous yet dashing US Naval officer, BF Pinkerton, seduces the fifteen year-old, Cio-Cio San (Butterfly). She forsakes the religion of her family, to the family's bitter resentment, and marries him. She believes it is marriage for ever. While for him it is a passing whim. Cognisant of her fragility, but not content with life unless he makes her one of his ‘flowers on every shore’, Pinkerton sets out to win her affection. She deceives herself, despite abundant warnings, as to Pinkerton's motives. When Pinkerton leaves she is convinced he will return and waits patiently for him. When he does return it is to a terrible and inevitable denouement made all the more poignant by an added and cruel twist.

The Lead Role

The role of Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly) will be sung by the outstanding Chinese Soprano Nancy Yuen who sang the role last time Opera Box brought the work to Kentwell. She is an absolutely wonderful Butterfly in every respect and enjoys international acclaim for her interpretation of the role. One could say she has made the role her own. If you see no other Butterfly you must see this one.

Opera Box

The company masquerades also as Swansea City Opera being the in-house Opera Company for Swansea. It is the same company operating under two names. Whether they appear at Kentwell as the one or the other appears to depend upon whether the production was produced for Swansea or not. So far as we are concerned they are Opera Box whatever pseudonym they may adopt. We consider them the best company touring Opera. We like their singing, the way they adapt to peforming alfresco, their acting, their direction and the excellent orchestra that accompanies them. In short they are the best Open Air opera company.

This Production

Marks over 100 years of Madama Butterfly a work that has become one of the most favoured in the repertoire. It will be sung in Italian but do not let that put you off as there will be a full synopsis to enable you to follow the twists and turns of the tale. The superb score is skilfully performed by some of the finest singers and orchestral players in the country. It is sure to be sumptuously dressed and well staged.

Picnicking

You may picnic anywhere in the Gardens except the stage and audience areas. You may begin your picnic before the show starts or during the one hour supper interval during which the Gardens will be floodlit.

Various sizes of Kentwell's solid picnic tables may be hired.

Kentwell Catering

Kentwell Theatre Buffet Suppers served in the Undercroft Restaurant may be booked in advance. The first part of the meal is served before the performance starts, with the remainder served during the interval.