The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

The character of Roma, based on the head of the Nazi brownshirts, Ernst Röhm, sings a set piece song. I was asked to set it as a sentimental  number from an Italian opera, along the lines of Una furtive lagrima. David Calder sang it very well, in the appropriate style, holding his cap in his hand in lieu of a handkerchief à la Pavarotti.

This was an excellent production, a rebuke to those who speak of repertory theatre  — ‘rep’ — in disparaging terms.

David Calder as Roma