Ellen Kent’s Tosca at the Waterside Theatre Aylesbury Review
Ellen Kent’s Tosca
Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury
17 October 2015
Reviewed by Katherine Christensen
My first experience of opera… you know what I’ll be back!
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre is a modern theatre in the centre of the market town – parking is plentiful and the staff are always very friendly and knowledgeable and are happy to help with interval timings and to assist in what time the show ends.
I was very excited to be offered the opportunity to attend the performance of Ellen Kent’s production of Puccini’s Tosca at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. It was first trip to the opera and I went with a very open mind and was pleasantly surprised.
The performance is in 3 acts – which did surprise me! But on reflection made perfect sense as I was utterly drained by the end of it…. never mind the performers.
The performance came with subtitles above the stage which enabled me to grasp the initial story although by the second act I found myself watching the stage and barely glancing at the subtitles as the performance was enough to tell the story regardless of the language barrier, there were moments of comedy, romance and of course great drama as we followed the story of Tosca.
The opera is set in 1800 in Rome during the time of Napoleon – the set was beautiful and looked just as you’d imagine it to be.
The opera is clearly dramatic and left us exhausted – in good way – as you felt so involved and absorbed in the whole performance – from the jealous Tosca to the villainous Scarpia who received a resounding boo from the audience at the end.
As a whole I would recommend going to anyone who hasn’t been – the storyline was easy to follow and the performances breathtaking! I for one will be going to the opera again.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information and tour dates visit www.ellenkent.com.
For other shows at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury visit www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury.
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Exchange Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP20 1UG
