OLIVIA ROSE TRINGHAM
Olivia Rose Tringham was a highly dramatic and forceful Female Chorus with a bright and clear top line, who owned the space she was given. Words were sometimes spat out like bullets, heightening the dramatic momentum, though in the female quartet towards the end of Act 1, she tended to dominate her colleagues. When Tarquinius appears at the Collatinus household a short time later, still only wearing his underpants, and bangs on a metal pole to signal his arrival, Tringham’s rich and warm chest register brought a delicious sense of irony in the reference to “Prince of Rome”.
Olivia sang with a strong opening, well controlled swells and clear melodic lines. She demonstrated good (and unobtrusive) breath control, a requirement of this choice of programme with its long lines, a need for gracefulness and sustained notes. As the songs dictated, she skilfully moved from rhythmic to flowing, pensive to provocative, melancholic to chirpy, conveying each with a readiness which reflected her immediate rapport with the audience, who, rightly, responded with enthusiasm.
The Act II Trio from Weber’s Der Freischütz (in English) was a good vehicle for British soprano Olivia Rose Tringham to show off a warm voice which soars easily and suits the role of Agatha.
The finale was from Mascagni’s l’Amico Fritz (it should be performed more!) Olivia Rose Tringham’s Suzel showed off her generous soprano, with a good chest register.
Tringham is a really accomplished stage artist and comic actress, singing superbly and spot on the beat without ever seeming to have to eyeball the conductor to do so (not all young singers can manage that, especially in a piece as dependent on slick timing as this), and she raps out the dialogue like a showbiz veteran.
Standing out from the cast is Olivia Tringham in the role of Rosalinde. A woman looking for excitement in her humdrum marriage to Eisenstein, Rosalinde has set her sights on plumber Alfred. A highly assured actor and singer, Tringham certainly makes a considerable impression. I am left with the memory of Rosalinda attending the party in a scarlet ball gown as Miss Budapest.
