Opera
Il Barbiere di Siviglia, GlyndebourneMonday, 23 May 2016
"We're off to Glyndebourne, to see a ra-ther bor-ing op-ra by Rosseeeni," quoth songwriting wags Kit and the Widow. So here it was at the Sussex house after a 34-year absence, the most famous of all his operas which includes the overture’s oboe tune... Read more... |
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, GlyndebourneSunday, 22 May 2016
A celebration of the power of words and music (leaving aside, briefly, that more troubling business about the Fatherland), Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is a natural opener for the summer opera season. Art triumphs over all, but in David... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Göttingen: HandelFest 2016Saturday, 21 May 2016
What Auden called "the sexy airs of summer" arrived early in Göttingen this year. Frog action in the Botanical Gardens of the town's pioneering University may have been less clamorous than when I first came here in late rather than early May (the... Read more... |
Madam Butterfly, English National OperaTuesday, 17 May 2016
There’s a beautiful moment at the start of Act II of Anthony Minghella’s Madam Butterfly. Butterfly kneels, leaning forward to kiss Pinkerton, seated in his defiantly Western armchair. A paper screen moves swiftly across our view, and almost before... Read more... |
In Parenthesis, Welsh National OperaSaturday, 14 May 2016
War may be a dramatic affair for anyone involved in it, but staging it is another matter. In fact describing it satisfactorily at all needs either a Tolstoyan flair for the large canvas, or else a poetic genius for directing its force inwards, into... Read more... |
Pleasure, Royal Opera, Lyric HammersmithFriday, 13 May 2016
A 28-year-old British composer makes his name with a new four-hand opera, set in contemporary Britain but underpinned by classical legend, pushing the boundaries of operatic subject matter and launching a glittering career. This was Mark-Antony... Read more... |
Die Zauberflöte, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Fischer, RFHWednesday, 11 May 2016
Sunlit golden mean or slightly hazy middle-of-the-road? Conductor-director Iván Fischer's fully costumed and imagined concert of The Magic Flute - or perhaps it would better have been titled Die ZauberFlute given its intelligent mix of sung German... Read more... |
Daniel Kramer for ENO Artistic Director: cause for cautious optimism?Saturday, 30 April 2016
Within the wounded, divided company of English National Opera – artists and administration still at loggerheads – the buzz is surprisingly positive. CEO Cressida Pollock does finally seem to be listening: union deputies from chorus and orchestra met... Read more... |
Il Vologeso, Classical Opera, Cadogan HallFriday, 29 April 2016
A mere 10 minutes in to this concert performance of an 18th century delight by Neapolitan Niccolò Jommelli, you knew the form to expect for the rest of the evening. Ian Page's Classical Orchestra kicked off with bracing rhythmic vitality from the... Read more... |
Tannhäuser, Royal OperaWednesday, 27 April 2016
Tim Albery’s 2010 production of Wagner's Tannhäuser is back for a revival at Royal Opera, featuring a different conductor and a nearly new cast, with one notable exception. The production itself is serviceable, visually coherent and with plenty of... Read more... |
Don Giovanni / Pia de' Tolomei, English Touring OperaMonday, 25 April 2016
The curtain is up for the overture to English Touring Opera’s new production of Don Giovanni, but no-one is on stage. Instead, we gaze at Anna Fleischle’s set: a creation in two layers. On the top, elegant Klimt panels glint with gold. Below, and... Read more... |
Shakespeare 400 Gala, LPO, Jurowski, RFHSunday, 24 April 2016
Every year is Shakespeare year in theatre, opera house and concert hall. An anniversary's best, though, for those select few galas where the mind's made flexible by constant comparison between different Shakespearean worlds. I don't know how it was... Read more... |
