The English National Opera's production of Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore opened on the 29 October to glowing reviews for the cast, which featured three Rayfield Allied artists. Australian Soprano Alexandra Oomens sang Josephine, Elgan Llŷr Thomas was Ralph Blackstraw and Contralto Hilary Summers was cast as Little Buttercup.
All three singers were received extremely well by the press:
“Elgan Llŷr Thomas and Alexandra Oomens ooze charm and sweet lyricism”
Richard Morrison, The Times ****
“Hilary Summers as Little Buttercup is an absolute delight with her fantastic comic timing and quite formidable singing voice”
Musical Theatre Review ****
“Australian soprano Alexandra Oomens is especially impressive, singing with a new-found amplitude, ringing top notes in both her arias, and riding the chorus magnificently in the Act I finale. Not only that, her diction is immaculate. She’s not just feisty, she’s genuinely funny.“”
Clive Paget, The Limelight Magazine ****
“The Mendelssohnian reverie of beauteous tar Ralph Rackstraw’s entrance sequence is richly served both by the orchestra and by Elgan Llŷr Thomas, with an Italianate throb in the voice and top notes to die for;”
David Nice, The Arts Desk ****
“...Hilary Summers’s glorious Little Buttercup...”
Nicholas Kenyon, The Telegraph ***
HMS Pinafore runs at the English National Opera, London Coliseum until 11 December 2021.
Read more about the production here.
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
