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News » Behind the Curtain
Jeremy Kleeman (Don Magnifico) in Victorian Opera's production 'La Cenerentola'
Kirilie Blythman, Daniel Todd, Timothy Reynolds, James Payne, Olivia Cranwell, Carlos Enrique Barcentas, Christine Heald in Victorian Opera's 'La Cenerentola' © Morganna Magee
Roxane Hislop as Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress“Baba the Turk is a cross between Lady Gaga and a circus act,” Roxane Hislop says of her character in The Rake’s Progress. She is the consummate diva and star with her own adoring public.
Roxane Hislop and Andrew Collis in The Rake's Progress.The bearded lady and the devil (yes, you read correctly), otherwise known as Baba the Turk played by Roxane Hislop and Nick Shadow played by Andrew Collis, surprised and delighted us all at the opening night of The Rake's Progress on Saturday 17th March.
Andrew Collis playing Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress 2012"Tom is like a young AFL star who has gone off the rails," Andrew Collis says whilst sitting in his dressing room. "He's susceptible to Nick's treachery."Andrew describes Nick Shadow, devil incarnate, as having an easy job of turning Tom Rakewell to the dark side. "You just want to give Tom a slap, he's so easy to manipulate, so willing to be degraded."
Tiffany Speight, playing Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress 2012"Anne does go for the good looking bad boy," Tiffany Speight confides in a break between rehearsals of The Rake's Progress, "but there's a lot more to it than that." Tiffany explains that Anne is a woman very aware of her responsibilities to her father, who also constantly struggles to look after the man she is in love with, despite Tom Rakewell's spectacular fall from grace. "She's somewhere between completely understandable and completely frustrating," Tiffany says, describing the way Anne never gives up on Tom , forgives all of his treacheries and nurses him in her arms in the heartbreaking final scene of the opera.
Ben Namdarian becomes Tom Rakewell, The Rake's Progress 2012Ben Namdarian thinks his dressing room is too large; his modesty is endearing. He’s as far from being a ‘rake’ as it may be possible to get, but he’s playing Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress with intensity and assurance.
