News

Trinity Laban’s summer production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea has received a trio of glowing reviews in the national press.

Writing in The Observer, Fiona Maddocks gave the production 4 stars, writing that: “Talent was evident in all quarters, from continuo to principal soloists to design and lighting… Now at critical stages in the development of their voices, all these singers deserve mention, including those playing main characters: Anna Prowse (Nerone), Luke Faber (Ottone), Henrike Legner (Drusilla), Samuel Mitchell (Seneca) and Charlotte Osborn (Poppea)… One performer stood out as already knowing how to use her dramatic and vocal skills to the utmost: mezzo-soprano Emily Gray (Ottavia). I’d mention some of the cameo roles but luckily it was too tricky working out who was who. So all please take a bouquet.”

In her 4-star review in the Sunday Express, Clare Colvin wrote that “Poppea is an ideal choice for Trinity Laban… Among the cast, mezzo Emily Gray was outstanding as the rejected Empress Ottavia. Excellent too were Bethany Horak-Hallett’s Nerone, Charlotte Osborn’s Poppea, counter tenor Luke Faber as Ottone, Henrike Legner as Drusilla and bass Samuel Mitchell as Seneca. The talent now emerging from British music academies augurs well for opera’s future.”

In Opera magazine, Christopher Webber commented that “Poppea proved an astute choice for Trinity Laban, with 22 singers nearly all given their moment in the sun.” He singled out the “elegantly stylish musical preparation” of Nicholas Kraemer; praised many of the performers while identifying Emily Gray as “a charismatic singer-actress to watch”; and concluded by saying that “the evening made a fine valedictory gift for the retiring Head of Vocal Studies, Linda Hirst, under whom the Conservatoire’s operatic standards have risen immeasurably.”

Applications our now open for study in September 2018. For more information see the study pages of the Trinity Laban website.