101 years after its premiere in Berlin, Wozzeck remains the epitome of the modern opera. It also remains astonishing: for its musical sophistication as Berg’s score morphs from scene to…
Month: April 2026
Remarkable Performances from Hurn Court Opera’s La Traviata at Winchester’s Theatre Royal
Hurn Court Opera has come a long way since its creation by founder Lynton Atkinson in 2017. Established to showcase the talents of emerging singers on the threshold of their…
A Musically Superb Flying Dutchman from Welsh National Opera
A woman in labour, a birth and a death launch this new production of Wagner’s first mature opera about the legendary Dutchman condemned to sail the seas until a wife…
Unanswered Questions: Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia for Hampstead Garden Opera
What price constancy in a society where fidelity is not much prized? Like its immediate predecessor, Peter Grimes, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia has corruption at its core and a…
Ring excerpts in San Francisco
San Francisco Symphony offered a brief Wagnerian orgy just now — a 65 minute orchestral concoction made of bits of Rheingold, Walküre, Siegried and Gotterdammerung. It began in the very darkened…
World-Class Conservatory Orchestra Gives Beautiful Mahler 4 at Washington National Cathedral
It is always a privilege to experience the beauty of the gothic masterpiece that is Washington National Cathedral, and doubly so with music. The space itself is only enhanced by…
Rinaldo Sallies Forth at the Royal Academy of Music
Some of the most life-affirming opera in London can be enjoyed in the regular productions at the city’s conservatories. First and foremost, they provide a showcase and valuable experience for…
It Doesn’t Always Have to be Cav and Pag: A Bartók and Zemlinsky Double Bill Plus a Song Cycle in Hamburg
How long does an opera need to be? How long is a piece of string? On being asked for his favourite opera Sir Thomas Beecham instantly replied, La Bohème. Why…
Gangsta Salome: Richard Strauss in Bethnal Green
Perhaps fittingly, there is an establishment by the name of “Satan’s Whiskers” a mere one-minute walk from York Hall. Richard Strauss’s Salome is a visceral juxtaposition of the good (or…
From the Opera Stage to the Screen: One Storytelling Tradition Leading to Another
For as long as I can remember, opera has been the foundation of how I understand storytelling. I joined the children’s chorus at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm when…