Like the Biblical cosmos, that of the Ring offers more than one creation myth, perhaps not entirely consistent with one another. Therein lies the dramatic rub. Richard Jones’s new production…
Year: 2023
Cilea’s Gloria in Sardinia
Beyond its emerald waters, white sands and pecorino cheese, Sardinia is an opera destination! Just now it was Francesco Cilea’s fifth and last opera, Gloria, at the Teatro Lirico di…
Sacroprofano: Sacred & Secular Vivaldi from Tim Mead and Arcangelo
On the concert platform, operatic stage and recording studio, Tim Mead has established himself as one of Britain’s foremost countertenors. This recent issue from Alpha is his first solo album…
Szymanowski’s Symphony No.3, The Song of the Night, in a mixed evening at the Barbican
This was an odd concert – supposedly with a Polish link, in that its bookends were two symphonies from that country, and two symphonies at that which were born out…
Ariadne auf Naxos in Leeds
Rodula Gaitanou’s production of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos debuted at Gothenburg Opera in 2018. A co-production with Opera North, the production finally made its way to Leeds, opening at…
Carmen at English National Opera
Calixto Bieito’s grimly visualised Carmen has now reached its third revival. First presented by ENO at the Coliseum in 2012 (and much travelled around Europe since its launch in Barcelona…
Not pity but tragedy: Iestyn Davies and Joseph Middleton perform Die schöne Müllerin at Wigmore Hall
In The Cambridge Companion to Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’, James William Sobaskie suggests that while ‘Winterreise elicits empathy for its outcast, inducing us to share his emotions and experience similar distress’, Schubert’s earlier…
Paul Cleary announced as Chairman of the Board of Wexford Festival Trust
It was announced today that Paul Cleary will step into the role of Chairman of the board of Wexford Festival Trust, commencing this month. An avid opera fan, Paul has…
Gran Cadenza: Irvine Arditti’s 70th Birthday and Jake Arditti sings Hilda Paredes’ Canciones Lunáticas
Although over its many years the faces of the Arditti Quartet have changed, its one constant has been Irvine Arditti himself. Now 70-years old, this birthday lunchtime recital, called Gran…
Glyndebourne: Dialogues des Carmélites cast change
Danielle de Niese has withdrawn from the Glyndebourne Festival 2023 production of Dialogues des Carmélites. Sally Matthews will take over the role of Blanche, returning to Glyndebourne after several successful engagements. Sally…