The Cunning Little Vixen, Opera North at the Grand in Leeds

 

The Cunning Little Vixen, Leos Janacek

A thoroughly enjoyable evening - brilliant music, athletic and acrobatic dancing and wonderful singing.  Fabulous stage set, great costumes. Comedy and pathos, what more could you want?

A folk/fairy tale, ‘totally bonkers’, the Night Garden with a darker side but a delicate touch. It’s a wow from me. 

Billy Budd - Opera North

21 October 2016 at Leeds Grand Theatre.

A great performance by an all-male cast. Striking scenery, stirring music, superb singing. It's a grim tale told as a flashback by a captain with a moral dilemma.  The three main characters, Captain Vere (Alan Oke), Claggart (Alastair Miles) and Billy Budd (Roderick Williams) were excellent, along with the supporting cast and the orchestra. 

I loved the piccolo playing during one of Billy's long arias. 

I thought the performance was magnificent.