Ned Rorem described works such as Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti (1952) as ‘Broadway operas’: a fusion of opera, music theatre and tv sitcom. There’s obviously a lot of edgy…
Year: 2023
Ruddigore at Opera Holland Park
Ruddigore has always had a problematic status in the G&S canon. Following hot on the heels of The Mikado, its premiere in 1887 was met with catcalls and jeers. Some…
Films d’Opéra in Entrecasteaux
Festival International Film d’Opéra d’Entrecasteaux (FIFOE) debuts this September in this small village nestled among the vineyards in the hills of Provence. The village is Entrecasteaux, famed for its farmhouse…
Oxford International Song Festival: Art:Song – Images, Words, Music
Oxford International Song Festival (formerly Oxford Lieder Festival):13 to 28 October 2023 Art:Song – Images, Words, Music The Oxford International Song Festival (13 to 28 October 2023) presents a thrilling fortnight of intrigue,…
Santa Fe Rusalka: Freudian Slip-up
Santa Fe Opera staged another local premiere this summer with the welcome company addition of Antonín Dvořák and Jaroslav Kvapil’s splendid opera, Rusalka, directed by the acclaimed Sir David Pountney.…
Enigmatic Debussy Riches in New Mexico
Santa Fe Opera is to be applauded for including Debussy’s inscrutable masterpiece, Pelléas and Mélisande in this summer’s festival season. This important work is more admired than loved, and a…
Barry Kosky’s production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites travels from Glyndebourne to the Proms
Francis Poulenc’s opera Dialogues des Carmélites retells the true story of the Martyrs of Compiègne who were executed on 17th July 1794, during the French Revolution, for refusing to comply…
PwC Ireland showcases sponsorship of Wexford Factory 2023
Opera singers Ami Hewitt and Maria Hughes performed at a cultural event in PwC Ireland’s Spencer Dock offices. Artists Maria and Ami have both been supported by the partnership between the Festival and…
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha brings an iridescent glow to Strauss’s Four Last Songs at the Proms
Copland, Hindemith and Strauss are not obvious bedfellows. However, the focus on the 1940s from either side of the Atlantic made perfect sense for this annual Prom appearance of the…
Santa Fe Orfeo: Jumbled Journey to Meow Wolf
In Santa Fe Opera’s first ever production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo, a funny thing happened on the way to Hades. Our hero seems to have wandered into an imaginative but perplexing…