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

CBSO Chorus, Czech Philharmonic, Bychkov, Barbican review - a mass of life

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Russians and friends play on for Ukraine

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The Telephone / Miss Fortune, Guildhall School review - brilliantly-executed double bill

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The Golden Cockerel, English Touring Opera review - no crowing over this henhouse

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Henry V, Donmar Warehouse review - playing at war

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‘Slava Ukraini!’: Russian musicians worldwide show solidarity

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When We Dead Awaken, The Norwegian Ibsen Company, Coronet Theatre review - living death, dying life

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Rachlin, Oslo PO, Mäkelä, Oslo Konserthus/Perianes, LPO, Berman, RFH review - the best-laid plans…

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Rigoletto, Royal Opera review - second time lucky

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The Cunning Little Vixen, English National Opera review - half-realised men and beasts

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This Is Going To Hurt, BBC One review - hospital drama with a realistic difference

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Kantorow, Philharmonia, Rouvali, RFH review – a new brilliance on the London concert scene

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Bajazet, Irish National Opera, Linbury Theatre review – robust but a bit rough

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Stikhina, Kowaljow, LSO, Noseda, Barbican review - dramatic songs of death, electrifying dances of life

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Fischer, LPO, Søndergård, RFH review - poised Mozart, lean and hungry Strauss

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Theodora, Royal Opera review - God, love, sex, death - and terrorism

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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...