All media enquiries to Rachel Barnett
Reviews:
"Four fearless comedians, a pianist happy to improvise in the style of anyone from Scarlatti to Steve Reich, a quick-witted clarinettist, and a well-lubricated audience, sorry, chorus. It is safe to say that if you don't enjoy mildly saucy Radio 4-style puns, have never marvelled at the skill of the Whose Line Is It Anyway? team, have a horror of audience participation, and can't tell your Purcell from your Piazzola, Impropera's current show is not for you. If, however, Humphrey Lyttelton is your hero and Josie Lawrence your pin-up, I cannot recommend Made Up highly enough.
This Wednesday saw the first (and last) performance of The Porous Head-Hunter of Buenos Aires: the zarzuela-esque culmination of an evening in which David Pearl improvised a Schubert lied about a lost yak, Susan Bissatt bade a bel canto farewell to her dog, Niall Ashdown delivered a simultaneous translation of Morag McClaren's magnificent performance of a hyperbolic Prokofiev aria on a dust-buster, and all four improvised a contrapuntal chat-up line in the style of Handel, accompanied brilliantly by Anthony Ingle and Peter Furniss... The perfect operatic pick-me-up."
Anna Picard, The Independent
“Rising to the audience’s every challenge, the company quickly weave a plot of brilliant ingenuity, embroider it with musical parody and bring wonder and joy to all.”
Jeremy Kingston, The Times
“A new art form sparks into life.”
The Journal, Salisbury
"It's a hugely entertaining musical show. Anything can happen: the keynote may be manic surreal comedy, but it can also suddenly turn dark or weird. It's also fascinating to watch the singers throwing the hot potato from one to another, providing an object lesson in seat-of-your-pants thinking. Such riotously good fun that even I lose my inhibitions."
Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph
"Indescribably Funny. Opera is long overdue this improvisational going-over – especially when it is done with the love and care of impropera. The better their improvisation, the harder it is to believe it was actually improvised. This is not about musical pastiches but built on emotional authenticity, realness and complicity. You would have to be a real snob to think it was indecent to make fun of the opera format in this way."
Swedish Daily News (Dagens Nyheter)
Features:
"Four fearless comedians, a pianist happy to improvise in the style of anyone from Scarlatti to Steve Reich, a quick-witted clarinettist, and a well-lubricated audience, sorry, chorus. It is safe to say that if you don't enjoy mildly saucy Radio 4-style puns, have never marvelled at the skill of the Whose Line Is It Anyway? team, have a horror of audience participation, and can't tell your Purcell from your Piazzola, Impropera's current show is not for you. If, however, Humphrey Lyttelton is your hero and Josie Lawrence your pin-up, I cannot recommend Made Up highly enough.
This Wednesday saw the first (and last) performance of The Porous Head-Hunter of Buenos Aires: the zarzuela-esque culmination of an evening in which David Pearl improvised a Schubert lied about a lost yak, Susan Bissatt bade a bel canto farewell to her dog, Niall Ashdown delivered a simultaneous translation of Morag McClaren's magnificent performance of a hyperbolic Prokofiev aria on a dust-buster, and all four improvised a contrapuntal chat-up line in the style of Handel, accompanied brilliantly by Anthony Ingle and Peter Furniss... The perfect operatic pick-me-up."
Anna Picard, The Independent
“Rising to the audience’s every challenge, the company quickly weave a plot of brilliant ingenuity, embroider it with musical parody and bring wonder and joy to all.”
Jeremy Kingston, The Times
“A new art form sparks into life.”
The Journal, Salisbury
"It's a hugely entertaining musical show. Anything can happen: the keynote may be manic surreal comedy, but it can also suddenly turn dark or weird. It's also fascinating to watch the singers throwing the hot potato from one to another, providing an object lesson in seat-of-your-pants thinking. Such riotously good fun that even I lose my inhibitions."
Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph
"Indescribably Funny. Opera is long overdue this improvisational going-over – especially when it is done with the love and care of impropera. The better their improvisation, the harder it is to believe it was actually improvised. This is not about musical pastiches but built on emotional authenticity, realness and complicity. You would have to be a real snob to think it was indecent to make fun of the opera format in this way."
Swedish Daily News (Dagens Nyheter)
Features:
