Opera in a concrete basement... for plenty of people that sounds as much fun as a wet mattress made from old jellyfish. But if Pop-Up Opera’s raw and powerful staging of “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” doesn’t win over doubters to the cause, then I’ll take that mattress and eat it.Pop-Up Opera is a lean, mean little company which takes – as the name suggests - classic operas to unlikely venues. Their latest venture, and first foray into tragedy, is Bellini’s superb 1830 reworking of the story of Romeo and Juliet.I saw the production in the basement of a London restaurant, but over the next few months it will also be travelling to a hospital, a tunnel under the Thames, an old asylum, and plenty of other wonderful and wacky spaces. Catch it if you can.The musical levels of the young singers are of the highest order, the necessary cuts work beautifully, and the simple staging hits most of the targets it aims at. Using just a handful of props, director James Hurley creates a contemporary gangland setting, riven by revenge and brutality. He also draws some impressively detailed acting from the performers.Of a double cast, mezzo Flora McIntosh (Romeo) creates a memorable portrait of a sullen and over-excitable teenager, bristling with anger and hormones, and Alice Privett is fascinatingly nervy and neurotic as Giulietta. Both have excellent bel canto techniques, and their tomb scene is as emotionally wrenching as in any staging I’ve seen. Some of the audience were openly sobbing; my own eyes were pricking. Bellini must have been looking down in delight.The rest of the cast is equally good. Andrew Tipple is authoritative as Giulietta’s father, tenor Cliff Zammit-Stevens makes a vocally polished Tebaldo, and Matthew Palmer a fine and engaging Lorenzo. Pianist and Music director Berrak Dyer accompanies with a subtle ear for the pulse of the drama too.It’s opera without the frills, pared down to the thrills.“I Capuleti e i Montecchi” is on tour until May 7. For more information; www.popupopera.co.uk
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