This was my first viewing of this opera and I was very impressed with it - particularly the music and the performance of the orchestra.
Felicity Palmer put on a performance that I have never seen her match anywhere and all the principals to my eye and ear performed well also.
I won't mention the horses!
I have seen mixed reviews and wondered what some of the opera lovers on this site thought of it.

I left after the interval, mainly because the soprano singing Katya was everything I dislike about sopranos. Any time she went near a high note she had to crank up the volume to ear-splitting levels to produce a vaguely correct sound and I just couldn't take it anymore, especially after seeing Don Giovanni the week before with an incredible Donna Anna and truly fantastic performances.

If they could have stopped singing and just go on with the orchestra, I would have stayed. The orchestra was playing fantastically well and I felt they were really let down by the very boring, and in some cases shrill, performances. Part of that is the particular opera itself, I guess, but my main gripe was the shrill and plodding Katya.

The horses were a nice touch, though. It would have really cheered me up if they could have left a little present.

Wasn't it Janice Watson singing Katya? If it was, that's quite odd because usually she sings beautifully and sensitively

Sebastian

I think it was her, but I thought her singing sounded quite forced. Some of those things are taste though, and maybe her voice just isn't my cup of tea. There were only a couple of occasions where she really did sound rather shrill.

You left...! I presume you were in the cheapos.