tue 03/06/2025

David Nice

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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

Prom 2, Walker, Sinfonia of London, Wilson review - sensuousness and subtlety in excelsis

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Prom 1, Verdi's Requiem, BBCSO, Oramo review - introspective sorrow and consolation between the blazes

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theartsdesk at the Ravenna Festival 2022 - body and soul in perfect balance

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The Turn of the Screw, Garsington Opera review - terrors and tragedy

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theartsdesk at the East Neuk Festival 2022 - on Cloud Nine for five days of the greatest music-making

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Così fan tutte, Royal Opera review - vibrant youth and vocal beauty

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theartsdesk in Zurich - forging a brilliant new Ring

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theartsdesk Q&A: bass-baritone Christopher Purves on communicating everything from Handel to George Benjamin

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George Fu, St Martin-in-the-Fields review - high intellect and visceral shocks

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Violet, Music Theatre Wales/Britten-Pears Arts review - well sung and played, but to what end?

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Ulysses, Abbey Theatre / The Tin Soldier, Gate Theatre, Dublin review - peerless Joyce marathon, Andersen squashed

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theartsdesk at the Dublin International Chamber Music Festival - extraordinary women to the fore

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Maria Stuarda, Irish National Opera review – two queens sing for the crown, with spectacular results

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Orfeo ed Euridice, Blackwater Valley Opera Festival review - heavenly possibilities, devils at work in the details

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Davidsen, Oslo Philharmonic, Mäkelä, Barbican review - full workout for the nervous system

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LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - four centuries of Italian music on parade

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Help to give theartsdesk a future!

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.

It followed some...

Album: Death In Vegas - Death Mask

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away called the late 1990s,...

La Straniera, Chelsea Opera Group, Barlow, Cadogan Hall revi...

Chelsea Opera Group has made its own luck in winning the devotion of two great bel canto exponents: Nelly Miricioiu between 1998 and 2010...

Dept. Q, Netflix review - Danish crime thriller finds a new...

Netflix’s new detective-noir is a somewhat cosmopolitan beast. It’s written and directed by an American, Scott Frank, derived from a novel, ...

The Queen of Spades, Garsington Opera review - sonorous glid...

Recent events have prompted the assertion – understandable in Ukraine – that the idea of the Russian soul is a nationalist myth. This production...

Blu-ray: Eclipse

What constitutes a “lost classic”? I guess we can’t say it’s an oxymoron, since we readily accept the concept of “instant classic”? Either way,...

The Ballad of Wallis Island review - the healing power of th...

I think The Ballad of Wallis Island is the best...

Music Reissues Weekly: Pete Shelley - Homosapien, XL-1

Pete Shelley’s departure from Buzzcocks felt abrupt. When he left the...

The Salt Path review - the transformative power of nature

“I can’t move my arms or legs, but apart from that I’m good to go.” Moth (Jason Isaacs) has to be pulled out of the tent in his sleeping bag by...

Elephant, Menier Chocolate Factory review - subtle, humorous...

This charmingly eloquent semi-autobiographical show – which first played at the Bush Theatre in 2022 – tells the story of a girl whose...