Operabox @ Hunstanton Festival

Operabox @ Hunstanton Festival

By DAVID JOHNSON

Operabox was recently described in The Times as a visionary touring company.

Members, accompanied with great sensitivity at the piano by musical director Fraser Goulding, gave the opening concert of Hunstanton's Diamond Jubilee Festival.

These outstanding younger singers presented excerpts ranging across virtually all the popular operatic repertoire plus some less frequently performed works. The amusing compere was Brendan Wheatly, co-founder of the company with Bridget Gill.

To me, the most memorable moments must include Che Faro Euridice from Gluck's Orpheus and Euridice, showing off the full beauty of Anne Atkinson's mezzo soprano voice.

Popular favourites included The Pearl Fishers Duet and the Flower Song from Lakme while Non Pandrei from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro was superb as performed by Brendan Wheatly, as was Papegano's Aria from the Magic Flute which displayed Aris Nadirian's magnificent bass voice.

A moving rendition of the Love Duet from La Boheme was given by Phillip Creasey and Alison Charlton West. Also memorable was a quartet Bella Figlia Dell' Amore from Rigoletto.