I haven’t laughed so much in months.
Vert-Vert is a fantastically funny full-on comic opera which hurtles towards you at 100 miles an hour.
It has everything you could ever want in an opera – drama, passion, ferocious singing, crazy dancing and, erm, lots of sex.
It’s an unusual, if pointless, plot centred on a girls’ boarding school. Their beloved parrot Vert-Vert has died, and, bizarrely, the girls decide they want to find a replacement in the form of innocent buffoon Valentin, and he takes on the parrot’s name and the adoration.
In a nutshell, the rest of the opera flits between relationships, secret rendezvous and lustful longings.
But it works!
Despite a slightly wooden start, the cast grew into their roles to take their characters to new heights.
And it wasn’t just the lead stars - all the cast delivered their parts with such gusto and finesse.
Baladon, the dancing master, played by Geoffrey Dolton, was a personal favourite.
He brought a smile to the face just from watching his moves - and his insatiable hunger for a moment with his wife Mademoiselle Paturelle.
Also worth a mention were the handsome dragoons, Quirijin de Lang and Andrew Glover.
Plus the sparkling La Corilla singer Naomi O’Connell, who lit up the stage.
The opera was performed in English, but still had subtitles, which helped to grasp the mad-cap plot.
However, the music provided some profound and hilarious lyrics about the merits of wine, of having ‘a bit on the side’ and the games we play when we love someone.
Silly, laugh out loud chaos.
Bravo!
Vert-Vert is being performed until July 9.
For more details go to www.garsingtonopera.org
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