In July 2025, Christopher’s production of his own new version of Der Schauspieldirektor came to the Buxton International Festival, re-named for British audiences as The Impresario, with an entirely new cast led by Tony and Olivier Award winner Richard McCabe, and conducted by Dame Jane Glover.
Some reviews:
The Opera Critic : It is not meant to be serious, it is meant to be knowing and entertaining and that is how Mozart wrote it. Add an appreciative audience that gets the jokes, and it is a perfect evening’s entertainment.
MusicOMH : Buxton International Festival always shows daring and originality in its choices, and this one trumps the lot: funny, very well sung and at times quite moving.
The director Christopher Gillett rewrote Stephanie’s libretto to fit in with the present day, with mostly hilarious results, and Richard McCabe brought immense gravity coupled with quicksilver wit to the leading role. In the midst of all the hilarity, there was a wonderful moment when ‘the Impresario’ ponders on the fact that he cannot sing, and a cloaked trio emerges to sing ‘Soave si el vento’ from Così fan tutte to demonstrate his point about the unique beauty of opera.
The Arts Desk : Quality singing and plenty of fun.
The Stage : Taking his cues from Noises Off, as well as the opera’s own tangled history, Gillett turns The Impresario – an opera about putting on an opera – into a play about an opera about putting on an opera. With more layers than a millefeuille (and just as brittle), the show leans into the confusion. “Audiences love it when you mess with the fourth wall,” impresario Leo (Richard McCabe) archly declares.
He’s not wrong. The laughs come often in Gillett’s tongue-in-cheek staging, whose contemporary frame gives ample opportunity to poke fun. Avant-garde directors, ego-driven singers, the Arts Council – even critics – are ripe for a roasting.
Operwire : A fast-moving, light-hearted romp containing some of Mozart’s best-known music, which kept the audience thoroughly entertained.
Gillett’s imaginative rewriting of the spoken text… wonderfully entertaining… you could simply sit back and enjoy the fun and beautiful music.
In October/November 2023 Christopher directed Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor for OPERA ZUID in the Netherlands. Christopher also wrote an entirely new script, poking fun at the whole business of putting on opera, which also adds in several more arias and ensembles by Mozart. Sir Thomas Allen played the title role.
With witty allusions to the opera world and witty jabs at the current poverty in the music world, it is an entertaining, intermission-free performance.
The text has been adapted, supplemented and made smoother by Gillett.
One of the two divas is a Romanian soprano, wearing an ordinary jumpsuit and bright yellow fur jacket. With a thick Southern European drawl, she just says ‘hello’ every time she hears her name, Angela. The American soprano Chelsea Bonagura plays this so funny that you don’t have to know that this is an allusion to the Romanian star soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who did not speak a word of English when she sang her debut in London. de Volkskrant
https://operazuid.nl/voorstelling/der-schauspieldirektor/
In February 2016 Christopher directed a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Lyric Theatre at the University of Illinois to great acclaim. Pictures can be seen here.
