In the 1980s, ‘authenticity’ was a buzzword in music research and performance; by the 1990s it was considered bothersome; nowadays it’s pretty much banished – a bygone concept of how…
Year: 2021
ENO’s Valkyrie fails to catch fire: an under-ambitious start to Richard Jones’s Ring Cycle
Very little exists in a visual way of Wieland Wagner’s Bayreuth Die Walküre from the mid-to-late 1960s. What does, largely requires us to use our imagination. It is something which…
Simon Keenlyside and Anna Pirozzi: chilling psychopaths in Covent Garden’s impressive revival of Macbeth
Macbeth is the first great fusion of music and drama in Verdi’s operas. It needs a great production, however, to bring those elements together and this is largely what Phyllida…
In the Bleak Midwinter: Christmas Carols from King’s
For those who like a physical recording of a world-renowned Christmas broadcast, this recent disc from the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge will provide a timely reminder of exceptional circumstances.…
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Met
Last week I attended the recent MET revival of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg alone. My wife declined to join me, insisting that she could not bear hearing endless…
Passion: operatic mix ‘n’ match from Véronique Gens
Passion is an imaginary opera built around the music of Jean-Baptiste Lully, and three of his pupils and contemporaries. It’s the result of discussions between Baroque specialist Véronique Gens and…
The Samling Institute 25th Anniversary Showcase at Wigmore Hall
Since its foundation in 1996, The Samling Institute for Young Artists has supported the careers of some 350 singers and musicians. Its 25th birthday was celebrated at Wigmore Hall by…
Transfigured Strauss and breathtaking Wagner: Miah Persson sings Vier letze Lieder and Rouvali conducts The Ring Without Words
It’s not often that I review a concert back to front, but this Philharmonia pairing of Strauss and Wagner is in part better understood that way. Both composers used huge…
Dramas of darkness and light: a stunning Bluebeard and sunny Haydn from the LPO and Gardner
In 1911, 30-year-old Béla Bartók began work on an instructive edition of seventeen of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas. Between February and September that year, he also composed his first and only…