OPERA OF THE WEEK
lolanthe London Coliseum
Until April 7
Who’d have thought it: English National Opera putting on an English piece, with an entirely British cast?
ENO needs bankable, revivable productions, and this one, thanks mainly to the director, Cal McCrystal, is exactly that. McCrystal is a visual comedy specialist and there’s plenty of clowning around here. But, the odd blunder apart, nothing to offend Gilbert & Sullivan traditionalists. There’s a talking dog, a horse that urinates on the stage, and a singing cow – all great for kids like me.
Best of all is the Second Act trio, Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady, encored several times, in which Sullivan’s great tune, Gilbert’s broad humour, some terrific singing and McCrystal’s inventiveness brought the house down on Opening Night.
Samantha Price (centre) an endearing Iolanthe, and the ENO stalwart Yvonne Howard shines again as the Fairy Queen.
Less successful is the Act I love duet, spoiled rather than enhanced by a couple of comic stagehands shifting stuffed sheep around. Needs reconsideration, that one. The set and costumes for G&S’s satirical fantasy are delightfully Victorian, thanks to the talents of the late Paul Brown. He also gives us proper crusty old ermineclad peers, not the jumped up typists and over-promoted bag carriers in shiny suits of the Blair/Cameron era.
ENO’s veteran patter merchant Andrew Shore is a predictably excellent Lord Chancellor. Ben Johnson is luxury casting as Earl Tolloller, Samantha Price an endearing Iolanthe, and the ENO stalwart Yvonne Howard shines again as the Fairy Queen.
Some others, like the rather middle-aged young lovers Phyllis and Strephon, don’t work so well. But this show is a cause for enjoyment, not carping.
With totally persuasive conducting from G&S specialist Timothy Henty, this is a show for which the cheers from a First Night audience seemed genuine, rather than, as often at ENO premieres, sprayed-on enthusiasm from people on freebies.
Roll up, roll up. All the fun of the fair for the entire family. ENO desperately needs your cash, and, this time, really deserves it.
THIS WEEK’S CD RELEASES
By David Mellor
Sheku Kanneh-Mason Inspiration
Decca, out now
Rating: 
How good is young Sheku?
Does the heartwarming back story of the first black musician to win BBC Young Musician Of The Year cause the extraordinary praise the cellist has received, or is he the real deal without it?
When I asked Julian Lloyd Webber that question two years ago, he unhesitatingly predicted a great future for the lad. On hearing this splendid album, I agree.
Kanneh-Mason has virtuosity aplenty, and a vivid musical imagination that allows him to venture into unusual territory, like his own arrangement of Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry
He has a big, noble tone. He also has virtuosity aplenty, and a vivid musical imagination that allows him to venture into unusual territory, like his own arrangement of Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry.
This whole album is a tribute, not just to his talent, but also to his maturity as a musician. Especially true of the live recording with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No 1.
The fact he has made this tricky piece so much his own speaks volumes for his innate taste and judgment.
This whole album is a tribute, not just to his talent, but also to his maturity as a musician