10/06/2025 RNCM Opera Scenes
Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss)
Cast
Rosalind Hardie Dryade
Katrina Mackenzie Najade
Niamh O’Connor Echo
Matthew Vining Ariadne
Creatives
Stuart Barker director
Rosina Flueckiger conductor
Thomas Schulze language coach
Sheldon Miller repetiteur
Synopsis
Ariadne is forlorn, having been abandoned on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus. The nymphs watch her, unable to bring consolation.
A ship has arrived, bringing the god Bacchus to the island. The nymphs tell Ariadne.
Die Zauberflöte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Cast
Elena Whiteley Erste Dame
Sinead D’Abreu-Hayling Zweiter Dame
Jasmine Colgan Dritte Dame
Patrick Parlaj Tamino
Sanlong Li Papageno
Creatives
Stuart Barker director
Connor Lyster conductor
Thomas Schulze language coach
Sheldon Miller repetiteur
Synopsis
Tamino and Papageno have been tasked with the challenge of silence. The three ladies try to tempt them away from their path.
Le donne curiose (Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari)
Cast
Na Gao Beatrice
Jasmine Higgs Rosaura
Charlotte Thomson Eleonora
Eirwen Roberts Columbina
Creatives
Stuart Barker director
Connor Lyster conductor
Antonia Sotgiu language coach
Sheldon Miller repetiteur
Synopsis
Beatrice is with her daughter Rosaura. Beatrice does not know what her husband gets up to when he pays regular visits to a mysterious gentlemen-only establishment. To make matters worse, he has taken his daughter’s fiancé there too. Could there be women of dubious moral character? Eleonora arrives. Her husband also spends considerable amounts of time there. Although she has some difficulty remaining on topic, she explains that she believes they are practicing alchemy. Colombina joins them. She is sure they are digging for buried treasure. The true answer remains a mystery.
Tartuffe (Kirke Mechem)
Cast
Ruth Harley Dorine
Esther Shea Mariane
Creatives
Stuart Barker director
Steph Godwin conductor
Sheldon Miller repetiteur
Synopsis
Mariane’s father has fallen under the spell of the charlatan Tartuffe and arranged that Tartuffe should marry his daughter. Mariane, however, is engaged to Valère and finds Tartuffe repulsive. Dorine is determined to help Mariane out of her difficult situation.
L’occassione fa il ladro (Gioachino Rossini)
Cast
Shuochen Sun Parmenione
Bethany-Louise Howe Ernestina
Samuel Horton Alberto
Kirsty McNaughton Berenice
Gabriel Jones Eusebio
Creatives
Stuart Barker director
Steph Godwin conductor
Antonia Sotgiu language coach
Sheldon Miller repetiteur
Synopsis
Alberto and Parmenione have met at a public house. Alberto was on the way to meet his bride-to-be, Berenice, for the first time. Their luggage is mixed up and Parmenione decides to take on the identity of Alberto and claim Berenice’s hand for himself. Meanwhile Berenice, nervous about her engagement to a man she has never met, has swapped places with Ernestina so that she can suss out the bridegroom incognito. So Parmenione (pretending to be Alberto) meets Ernestina (pretending to be Berenice), before the real Alberto and Berenice then meet. Berenice’s uncle Eusebio appears and tries to work out what on earth is going on.
