| Castradiva by Mark Ryan |
| First presented in 1999 by Buddug Verona James / Opera Cocktail |
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synopsis: This was first presented by Opera Cocktail/Theatr Mwldan and is now presented by Opera Cocktail and Guy Masterson Productions |
There are 4 reviews of Buddug Verona James / Opera Cocktail's Castradiva in our database:
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Castradiva
by Mark Ryan
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venue Belltable ,Ireland |
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January 29, 2000 |
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| The third annual Fringe programme from the Belltable opened with Castradiva which as the title indicates, has as its subject one of those those 18th century singers who, for the greater glory of God, was assisted by the Catholic Church to swap masculinity for an exceptional singing voice. The solo role is taken by Welsh actor-singer Buddug Verona James, who takes the stage with a swagger in costumed finery. For the next hour she sings seven arias by Handel and Gluck in a magnificent voice with, to my untutored ear, an androgynous tone. Around them she weaves a saucy little tale of the sex life of her ilk in Roman society, using masks to introduce other characters. The singing is the thing here and, for the bravura hour-long performance, boredom is simply not an option. A trio of musicians on harpsichord, baroque violin and viola provide excellent accompaniment. |
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| reviewer: Gerry Colgan, Irish Times |
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| Assorted reviews of Castradiva | |
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Castradiva
by Mark Ryan
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[print] |
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venue Various venues and times |
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January 1, 2000 |
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| Castradiva Buddug's one woman show based on the fictional life of a castrato featuring arias by Handel and Gluck accompanied by the Early Music Wales Ensemble led by Andrew Wilson Dickson World Premiere at Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan, Wales The Western Mail, January 17 2000 Wales may be the only place in the world where a cross-dressing butcher's daughter can enchant a full house with arias by Handel and Gluck in her father's old slaughterhouse. The world premiere of Castradiva at Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan was the happy occasion for this unusual mix. Buddug became interested in the colourful world of the castrati while impressing critics across the world by portraying men on the opera stage. This is her pet project, and its first performance attracted a full house in her hometown. This is real entertainment, even if your ear is not tuned to opera. Buddug is a stunning mezzo-soprano and has chosen seven arias, originally written for the castrati of 17th and 18th Century Rome, which perfectly illustrate her range, and her virtuosity in coloratura. The music is made accessible through her portrayals of six characters, including the Pope, that are full of slapstick and visual humour, laced with a witty, comic and intelligent script by Mark Ryan. Steve Dube. The Tivyside, January 19 2000 The audience at Theatr Mwldan were treated to a unique and brilliant piece of theatre. Castradiva, devised and written by Buddug Verona James and Mark Ryan - a collaboration which has produced one of the wittiest and original one-woman shows on the stage today. Set in the hot-house environment of Roman society of the 18th century with scheming clerics, amoral high society. Pedrolino, the magnificent castrato singer, tells the tale of how he outwitted the Pope and saved the day for his mistress the Contessa. Buddug played all the parts: the vainglorious posturing Pedrolino, the effete Contessa; the grubby little Monsignor Graziano, the Pope's spy; the senile Pope himself; and for good measure, the brainless nincompoop Silvio - the young tenor - and the equally witless heroine Ortensio. Buddug maintained this brilliant theatrical illusion of a woman playing the part of a man who in turn plays the part of a woman and then back to a woman playing the part of a man and then ... ad infinitum as though through a series of mirrors, with a surety and effortlessness that belied sheer stamina needed to hold the stage on her own. But, there was more. Pedrolino as he narrates the lascivious, bawdy tale with beautifully timed throw-away lines and gestures and slight changes of facial muscles - which engendered instantly a new character (the only props being half-faced Commedia masks)- now and then breaks off to show that he can really sing. Buddug demonstrated her outstanding quality of her voice. The accompaniments were by Early Music Wales. All were dressed, as was Buddug in exquisite 18th century costumes. FB Irish Premiere of Castradiva at the UnFringed Fesitval, Belltable Theatre, Limerick. The Irish Times January 29 2000 Buddug Verona James takes the stage with a swagger in costumed finery. For the next hour she sings seven arias by Handel and Gluck in a magnificent voice with an androgynous tone. Around them she weaves a saucy little tale of the sex life of her ilk in roman society, using masks to introduce other characters. The singing is the thing here and, for the bravura hour-long performance, boredom is simply not an option. A trio of musicians provide excellent accompaniment. Gerry Colgan. The Sunday Tribune January 30 2000 In Castradiva, a crossover opera-theatre show about cross-dressing, mezzo-soprano Buddug Verona James is winning and impressive as she alternates between acting six commedia dell'arte characters and singing numerous Gluck and Handel arias accompanied by live harpsichord, violin and viola da gamba. Karen Fricker Sunday Independent January 30 2000 Buddug Verona James acts and sings to the accompaniment of a baroque trio led by Andrew Wilson- Dickson. The arias are a glory (including Cara Sposa) James has a wondrous mezzo voice. This imaginative piece of mischief is a quirky delight, great fun dramatically and exquisite musically. Emer O'Kelly. Castradiva at Garterlane Arts Centre The Munster Times, April 28 2000 Garter Lane Arts Centre on Wednesday 19th April provided a glorious gem of an evening with a touring Welsh production of 'Castradiva'. This was a one-woman show telling of the story of the greatest of the castrati. There was a whiff of the forbidden about them and Buddug captured the oddity, the comedy, the sleaze and the travesty of these singers. She was camp when she needed to be camp and she had tears in her eyes when needed. Her performance entranced the audience and her clear vocal tone soared and trilled to the angelic music of Handel and Gluck. She entertained the audience with the vigour and virtuosity of her performance. Accompanied by a trio of harpsichord, viola da gamba and baroque violin she strode on stage and began "Allow me to introduce myself, Pedrolino - Il Magnifico - Il primo castrato". The monsterous ego of a pampered superstar was evident and quickly the other characters were introduced, a love sick tenor, who sang of his "Dear Bride". A younger castrato who later turned out to be a woman using a pork sausage; a dotty Contessa: a Monsignor with cold hands for young boys' private parts and a ruddy-cheeked Pope who would at least warm his hands. In quick succession we got the masculine swagger and bragaddocio, the female guile and girlishness, the crude cleric and a belly laughing Pontiff as well as dazzling singing. We had parody; some "in" - theatrical jokes and some clever side swipes at clerics. Castradiva is the style of show that will grace major venues, and festival stages much in the way that Red Kettles "Catalapa" is still doing. Liam Murphy. Castradiva at Theatr Ardudwy, Harlech The Daily Post, October 16, 2000 James simply magnificent in bizarre tale The plot is Mozartian. A lovely aristocratic girl, forced to play a boy, falls in love with a tenor, also an aristocrat. She is loved in vain by the celebrity castrato who plays a practical joke that foils the Pope. Splendidly attired as a Roman dandy, Buddug Verona James plays all the roles in this story of an 18th century castrato. She is the celebrated castrato himself, the younger fake castrato who is even less than he appears, a bawdy Contessa, a priapic Pope and a scurrilous Monsignor. Her only props are two carnival masks, a trio of feathers and a silk wrap. Yet each character comes to life before your eyes. She is in turn a braggadoccio, tender, sentimental and downright raunchy. Magnificent though James' acting is, it pales besides her singing. In the average opera, a role carries three arias. She sings seven fiendishly difficult pieces by Handel and Gluck and climaxes, literally, with a disco flashing light routine and a somewhat suggestive microphone. She meets the demanding music with total assurance, creamy as cappuccino, each note architecturally faultless. The play by Mark Ryan, directed by Chris Morgan, is a joy. Music Director Andrew Wilson Dickson, harpsichord, Patxi del Amo, viola da gamba, and Marianne Szucs' enchanting baroque violin completed the pleasure in the prettiest theatre in Britain. Ian Skidmore. Castradiva at the Purcell Room, London Musical Opinion, 2001 On 6 May the severely functional stage of the Purcell Room was transformed into a castrato's boudoir for Castradiva, Buddug Verona James's operatic cabaret act. Written by Mark Ryan, it is the story of Pedrolino, il primo castrato, the leading singer in early 18th Century Rome, and the musical circles over which this imaginary castrato held sway. With the help of a chaise-longue, a table and curtain, his overheated world of intrigue was re-created in words and music by this talented singing actress and peopled with no fewer than six different characters. For Buddug Verona James not only brought to life the egregious Pedrolino, but using a series of masks she sketched in his rivals, the tenor Silvio and the young castrato Ortensio, his employer the Contessa, the Pope, whose authority extended to the Roman musical world, and the Pope's detective, who enforced the church's ban on the employment of female singers. Interspersed with the unfolding of the slightley risque details of Pedrolino's love life and the adventures of a young girl passing herself off as a castrato to escape an unwanted marriage, James sang a number of Handel arias originally performed by such luminaries as Carestini and Nicolini. In a well-schooled, darkly coloured mezzo that simulated the sound of the male alto, she opened with Dopo notte from Ariodante, lightening her tone for the languishing mood of Cara sposa from Rinaldo. Then came two arias from Amadigi, Sento la gioia, which she attacked with joyous zest, and Pena tiranna in which she ornamented the singer's grief expressively. Handsomely costumed in purple silk lavishly overlaid with gold brocade, she cut a swaggering extrovert figure, no doubt on the lines of the image cultivated by the castrati in their day. The stylish accompaniment was provided by Lucy Robinson on Bass Viol, Marianna Szucs on Baroque Violin and Harpsichordist Andrew Wilson-Dickson, the Music Director, all three dressed in period Costumes and helping to set the scene. The Director of this entertaining show was Chris Morgan. Margaret Davies. Castradiva at the Tudeley Festival, Tonbridge K & S Courier, July, 2001 Bronze-toned in voice as Rodney Milnes tells us, and brazen in manner, the truly remarkable Buddug Verona James swept all before her in Castradiva, the latest presentation in the Tudeley Festival series. The main character – indeed, the only character – is Pedrolino (‘Il primo castrato’ also known as ‘Il Magnifico’) whose adventures are modelled on the careers of those few castrati whose success made them famous, rich and powerful. Mezzo-soprano Buddug Verona James throws herself into this role with enormous gusto and, beautifully dressed and bewigged, dominates the stage for much of the performance. She sang six arias from operas by Handel and one from ‘Orfeo’ by Gluck. Some were laments, powerfully expressive and sung with great feeling, while the more joyful arias – especially one deliciously sent up in an Andrew Lloyd Webber fashion – were full of vivacity and charming wit. The voice itself is quite magnificent – rich, powerful, creamy and full-toned across a most impressive range. No wonder Buddug Verona James has drawn such praise from the critics, and has played so many different parts in a highly varied and successful career. Robert Hardcastle. |
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| reviewer: Various reviewers |
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Castradiva
by Mark Ryan
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venue Swaledale Festival |
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June 6, 2003 |
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| Castradiva was an elite performance in an elite setting. Not only does Buddug Verona James have a stunning voice, she is also a superb actress. At her performance in Leyburn last week, it was amazing to see her swapping with ease between various characters using masks to help with each swift transition. She enthralled her audience with her story of the life of a castrato in eighteenth century Italy. An accompanying trio of musicians was equally accomplished. They had the stage to themselves in the first part of the programme when each described the history of their authentic instruments. Lucy Robinson explained that even if her viola da Gamba, made in 1649, looked like a cello, it was in fact a British-made ancestor of the guitar. Mark Elton played a baroque violin and Andrew Wilson-Dickson was at the harpsichord, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the latter's commentary as he introduced the selsction of early-eighteenth century instrumental music. All three were suitably attired for that period and so harmonised in every way with James, whose costume was as sumptuous as her performance |
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| reviewer: Darlington + Stockton Times |
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| Quirky offering was a delight | |
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Castradiva
by Mark Ryan
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venue Exeter Festival, Northcott Theatre Exeter |
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August 2, 2006 |
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| HAPPILY, the world of the castrati is not one that we can experience at first hand these days. Times when young boys of good voice paid a heavy price for an admittedly glittering long-term career are thankfully long behind us. Castradiva was a quirky offering from this year's Exeter Festival, and although it attracted only a half-full house at the Northcott Theatre, there were a lot of highly impressed people in the audience by the end. Mezzo soprano Buddug Verona James starred as a castrato in the Rome of 1700, and told the story with six arias written for castrati by Handel and one by Gluck. Her voice is a delight. She has fluid dexterity and marvellous control and her charismatic stage presence takes the slight story of a well-established castrato who faces a predicament at a fair old lick. James had fine support from musicians Andrew Wilson-Dickson (harpsichord), Lucy Robinson (bass viol) and Simon Jones (baroque violin), all performing heroically in layers of period costume despite the hot summer evening. The show is written by Mark Ryan and directed by Chris Morgan and although the first half, a 'musicians-only' introduction to baroque music, was relaxed and enjoyable in its own way, it felt rather like padding and the main section could have happily stood by itself. |
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| reviewer: David Marston |
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| If you know of any other existing review, or if you have any more information on Castradiva, (perhaps you were in the production or were the author or director) then please use the form below to send us the details |