Last night at Hergest Croft Gardens in Kington an enthusiastic audience was treated to a memorable performance of Don Pasquale by The Garden Opera Company. We enjoyed a picnic in the gardens before the performance and then settled down to enjoy the performance - an Italian opera in the style of a French farce, set in the 1970's and performed in English!
Deryck Hamon played a superb title role and had the audience chuckling with his comic approach - at times verging on slapstick. The role of Norina was played by Sally-Ann Sheperdson and her performance was excellent.
Alexander Anderson-Hall as Ernesto and James McOran-Cambell as Dr Malatesta completed the cast and provided solid performances with touches of comic genius - often involving underpants and innuendo.
The Chamber Ensemble provided a flawless performance despite the cool damp conditions - a hot water bottle was spotted being deployed in the string section!
We were very fortunate with the weather - only a sudden short burst of rain towards the end of the Act II had the audience huddling under hoods, blankets, umbrellas, or whatever they could find. However, the rest of the evening was dry, if slightly chilly, and the entire evening was a great success. Altogether a great evening of entertainment and a fine fund raiser for the Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust.
The evening was kindly sponsored by South Hereford Audi.
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All images © Brian Hughes and The Best of Hereford Ltd
