Arts & Culture
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...survived 20 years doing it,” having recently flirted with retirement, Ellen continues to work tirelessly on all aspects of the productions, from directing to sourcing materials for the dazzling costumes. Despite her pre-occupation with the three productions touring at the moment, she is currently planning the entire reps for this au- tumn and the following spring. “I’ve reviewed all the singers from the autumn,”
Ellen said. “Tere were a couple I thought could have been a bit stronger, so there have been a few tweaks. Te soloists always come from all round the world because they’ve got to perform to the highest standards, but most of the cast come from Moldova.” “Te people in Moldova have been very sup-
portive and allowed me to do whatever I want,” she added. “Tey have a strong orchestra, good voices and are very amenable to work with. I look for an administrative infrastructure which is user-friendly and wants to develop.” Ellen says she has, in the past, faced a “sniffy”
reaction to her lavish approach to opera produc- tion, once described as “the Las Vegas of opera,” from the ‘purists’ accustomed to the rarefied atmosphere of the Royal Opera House. “I like to have fun, even with very serious ope-
ras,” she said. “Opera is not meant to be deadly serious. It was done to entertain the masses in Italy, like a popular sport. Tey were a bit like the old English music hall. Te Italian operas are fun. Tere’s lot of comedy if you look.” Tough some might consider it to be dis-
paraging, Ellen is proud of the fact that her productions are considered ideal for first time opera goers. She said: “First of all I’d say go and see an
Ellen Kent opera because it’s very user friend- ly. I wasn’t an opera specialist when I started. I didn’t know anything about it. I had to learn what it was all about. I like what I do because I can understand it. I was a trained classical actor and a trained singer, so I’ve always had an artistic eye. As a producer who started off knowing very little about opera I think I can offer the audience a different view and that has helped me put on shows that I would like if I’d never seen an opera before.”
For ticket information, visit
www.liverpoolempire.org.uk
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