fri 29/08/2025

David Nice

David Nice's picture
Bio
The classical music and opera editor of theartsdesk, David writes, lectures and broadcasts on music. A former music critic for The Guardian and The Sunday Correspondent, he has made regular appearances on BBC Radio 3, not least in the long-running series Building a Library. He has written short studies on Elgar, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and the history of opera, and is currently working on the second volume of his Prokofiev biography for Yale University Press. He runs two Zoom lecture series, Opera in Depth on Mondays and a symphonies course on Thursdays.

Articles By David Nice

Watts, Williams, The Bach Choir, Philharmonia, Hill, RFH review - Vaughan Williams, from decadence to metaphysics

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Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Wigmore Hall review - nine haute cuisine courses, twelve happy musicians

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Alcina, Royal Opera review - sharp stage magic, mist over the pit

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The Yeomen of the Guard, English National Opera review - half-good shot at an unusual G&S misalliance

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Britten Weekend, Snape review - diverse songs to mostly great poetry overshadow a problem opera

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theartsdesk at Wexford Festival Opera - the bad, the good and the glorious

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Vaughan Williams Anniversary Concert, Wigmore Hall review - choices, choices

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La bohème, Glyndebourne Tour review - Death and the Parisienne doing the rounds

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Total Immersion: Sibelius the Storyteller, Barbican review - a feast of sagas and psychic masterpieces

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Boris Giltburg, Wigmore Hall review - power and grace in elegies and monuments

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Only an Octave Apart, Wilton's Music Hall review - instant charm, infinite variety

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Tosca, English National Opera review - a tale of two eras

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Purcell's Playhouse, Bevan, Barokksolistene, Eike, Purcell Room review - kaleidoscopic delights

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Aida, Royal Opera review - dour but disciplined

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Gurrelieder, LPO, Gardner, RFH review - everything in place, but still something’s missing

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theartsdesk at Musikfest Berlin - orchestral and choral rainbows around the clock

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