Opera under a canopy in a London park? Can’t be done, said the scoffers. Just think of the poor acoustics. Major stars and conductors will never come. You can forget about sponsors. It’ll all be second-rate. Don’t bother.Which goes to show you should never listen to the wet blankets. Nearly twenty years ago, the passionate and plucky Opera Holland Park believed it could offer something truly new to the opera world, and the gritty integrity of general manager Mike Volpe and producer James Clutton has swept away all doubts in a fearsomely short time. And they still do it all on a remarkably modest budget.Some of the biggest names in opera, such as mezzo Rosalind Plowright, baritone Alan Opie, and conductor Richard Bonynge (husband of the late Dame Joan Sutherland), have appeared under the dazzling, Frank Gehry-like canopy that covers the 1,000-seat auditorium. The careers of several superstars haven been launched there too. And it has staked its shirt, more than once, on staging neglected works that have turned out to be real-deal masterpieces. One of them, “L’amore dei tre Re,” is being revived this year, and I promise you’ll kick yourself if you miss it.The operas take place in the middle of a leafy green-lung space in west London against the picturesque ruins of a once-great mansion. Operatic heaven might look a little bit like Investec Opera Holland Park.This year’s season is as audacious as anything they’ve ever done. Verdi’s “Aida” (June 24-July 24), which plants an epic love story against a backdrop of warring Egyptians and Ethiopians, is usually seen in the kind of elephantine stagings which make Leni Riefenstahl’s “Olympia” look understated. Holland Park deserves a medal for its sheer, jaw-dropping chutzpah in daring to tackle such a behemoth. An extra temptation is the power-throated soprano Gweneth-Ann Jeffers in the title role.The company rarely revives its productions, preferring to generate new stagings year-on-year, but they couldn’t not return to their triumphant “L’amore dei tre Re” by Italo Montemezzi (1875 – 1952) from July 22-August 1. Never heard of him? You’re not alone. Even in the opera world, few knew the name of the composer before Martin Lloyd-Evans’s production generated five-star reviews in 2007. Telling the story of a jealous blind king and his adulterous daughter-in-law, the piece is a heady rollercoaster ride of tormented passions and twisted romanticism. It stars the phenomenally talented Natalya Romaniw, a Welsh soprano of Ukrainian descent, whose gleaming, powerful voice is as thrilling as her subtle stage skills.Another large-scale work which is rarely seen outside the biggest houses is Puccini’s “Il trittico,” an evening of three one-act operas, running June 2-27. Holland Park staged one of the trio, “Gianni Schicchi,” in a hilarious and fast-paced production in 2012, and is now adding new stagings of the two remaining works, “Il tabarro” and “Suor Angelica,” to make up the triumvirate. Mezzo Rosalind Plowright stars as the chilling, malign Principessa in “Angelica” and internationally celebrated Anne Sophie Duprels (whose career was launched at Holland Park) appears as the principal soprano in both “Tabarro” and “Angelica.” The conductor is the terrific Stuart Stratford, who has just been announced as the music director of Scottish Opera.The other works of the season are “Flight” by Jonathan Dove (June 6-19) and “Lakmé” by Delibes (July 9-31). The former is an amusing and bittersweet work about a group of travellers stranded in an airport, and the director is Stephen Barlow who created Holland Park’s sensational “Tosca” set among the flower-power riots of 1968. Delibes’s work is a seductive piece of French exoticism telling the story of an Indian girl who falls in love with a British officer, and stars Fflur Wyn in the title role.The company is funded partly by the local council of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (a unique situation in the UK) and partly by healthy sponsorship from Investec Wealth and Management. That will all change in 2016 when the council will give a “golden handshake” to the company, and sever some of its ties. Perhaps the new lack of bureaucracy will allow them to thrive in new ways; or perhaps the lack of local funding will be too tough for them (though I doubt it.)Whatever happens, this will be the last year of OHP in its current form — an added incentive to catch this superb crew while you can.For more information visit Opera Holland Park.
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