First unveiled at Glyndebourne in May (review), Paul Higgins’s revival of Don Giovanni leaves Mariame Clément’s interpretation largely untouched, yet questions about her staging and its ambiguities remain unexplained. Most…
Month: November 2023
Omar in San Francisco
The black man Omar Ibn Said was forcibly brought from sub-Saharan Africa to South Carolina in 1807. He was sold, becoming an indentured person for life (d. 1863). Omar the…
Handel’s Jephtha at the Royal Opera House
Voices cut through the darkness, chanting in prayer. A candle flickers centre-stage. These are potent symbols of the fundamentalism and fire that drive Handel’s Jephtha and of the battle between…
Francisco Guerrero from The Brabant Ensemble
Known by his contemporaries as ‘El cantor de Maria’, Francisco Guererro (1528-99) was a much-travelled musician and composer whose career bridged the gap between Cristóbal de Morales and Tomás Luis…
Annabel Arden’s L’elisir d’amore brings autumn sunshine to Glyndebourne
The first day of what would have been Glyndebourne’s 2023 Autumn Tour, had not Arts Council England swung its financial axe, was as sunny and bright as the score which…
Winners announced for 2023 International Opera Awards
The world of opera came together in Warsaw tonight [9 November 2023] for a star-studded ceremony at Teatr Wielki, Polish National Opera, Warsaw at which the winners of the 2023 International Opera Awards were…
Perfection, of a Kind: Britten vs. Auden – City of London Sinfonia at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
‘I’ve seen & am seeing Auden a lot, & our immediate future is locked with his, it seems.’ So wrote Benjamin Britten to his sister, Barbara, on 3 September 1939.[1]…
Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s Hansel and Gretel
Blessed with “a quality of talent that could have opera geeks swooning,” (Shakespearances) Shakespeare Opera Theatre is pleased to kick off our eighth season with a journey to Bavaria in…
Zoraida in Wexford: Forgotten But Not Gone
It was a big leap today from the effervescent afternoon performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s acclaimed comic delight, The Daughter of the Regiment, to the somber evening show of the same…
Afternoon Laughs in Wexford
If the Wexford Festival’s evening fare in their Women & War themed season is deadly serious, the afternoon offerings were chockful of amusing confections that are more fun than a…