Mozart cut his operatic teeth on La finta semplice, as a twelve-year-old prodigy being paraded before the Viennese court by his ambitious father, Leopold.
Year: 2013
Schubert : Ian Bostridge at the Wigmore Hall
Scarcely had Julius Drake seated himself, when the piano’s turbulent stream of relentless semiquavers precipitously announced the opening of Schubert’s ‘Der Strom’ (The river), the opening song in Ian Bostridge’s recital series, Schubert Lieder.
Le nozze di Figaro, Royal Opera House
Although this is their fifth outing, Tanya McCallin’s sets for David McVicar’s Le Nozze di Figaro remain a sumptuous feast for the eyes.
Thomas Hampson: Mahler Songs
Thomas Hampson “lives” Mahler. He’s the greatest Mahler singer of our time, and a serious Mahler scholar as well.
Turandot, Royal Opera
The Royal Opera’s production of Puccini’s Turandot is nearly 30 years old. Created for the 1984 Olympics, Andrei Serban’s production has been
revived 15 times.
Wigmore Hall Opening Gala, Terfel and Keenlyside
The Wigmore Hall 2013/14 season started in exuberant style. Simon Keenlyside, Bryn Terfel and Malcolm Martineau devised a programme that was festive and fun. And, this being the Wigmore Hall, the recital was as erudite as it was popular
Gergiev’s Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold launches what is perhaps the single most ambitious project in opera, Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.†
Herheim in Salzburg: Die Meistersinger von N¸rnberg
Stefan Herheim’s Die Meistersinger von N¸rnberg in Salzburg will transfer to the Met. Will audiences collapse in hysteria?
Patricia Racette on Dolores Claiborne
On a personal level, I feel that Dolores is almost like Emmeline grown up. Their circumstances are not exactly parallel, but they are both women at very different points in their lives whose stories involve dilemmas with life-changing outcomes.
Royal Opera House Announces Digital Theatre
The Royal Opera House has its own DVD arm, Opus Arte, and is developing quite a global
following with its cinema broadcasts.