Ryedale District Council supports the Ryedale Festival.

Martin Dreyer of Opera magazine reviews
Ryedale Festival's The Cunning Little Vixen

With its unerring knack of flushing out operas that are ideally suited to their surroundings, the Ryedale Festival hit the target again on its opening night: a country opera for a country festival. Janáček's vulpine adventures perfectly mirrored the delights of Ryedale in a canny new production by Joe Austin. The evening enjoyed two huge underlying advantages. The typically luminous new translation by John Warrack—the festival's guiding light, and now president, for many of its 30 years—gave the enterprise an effective springboard, reflecting the libretto's essential optimism. Iain Farrington conducted his own inspired reduction of the score to only nine instruments. But you would hardly have known that this was not Janáček's own. It danced and glided as if straight from Moravia: folk elements of the original seemed to emerge more clearly than ever. The chamber-music feel suited the intimacy of the production and no doubt the budget too.

Simon Kenny showed a sure grasp of the theatre's spatial limitations with a permanent set that allowed subtle changes. Without a pit, he put the orchestra at the back of the stage, partly shielded by a large semi-transparent disc. This glowed silver or gold for night or day, thanks to Christopher Nairne's lighting; characters peopling dreams were first glimpsed behind it before emerging fully. His clever costumes left no doubt about any animal's identity. Props were minimal: just a bench and table for the pub, with gauze cloth dropped behind.

Rebecca Bottone's charismatic Vixen carried the show, vivacious, emotional and clear-toned. We travelled every step of her up-and-down path and breathed a sigh of relief when she was 'reborn'. Thanks to five characters trebling up on their roles— and some lightning costume-changes—there were only nine singers, but not a weak link among them. Samuel Evans brought a firm baritone to his Forester, alongside Clare McCaldin's lithe Fox (and Lapak) and Thomas Herford's soulful Schoolmaster (and fluttering Mosquito). Six children made engaging chickens and cubs. All danced gleefully to Nick Winston's infectious choreography.

A poignant and rewarding show. Let us hope that this venue will become a permanent replacement for Hovingharn Hall's cavernous riding stables, which housed the company's previous outings.

Martin Dreyer, Opera magazine
October, 2011