I’ve always found it strange that in the English language the title of one of the most popular pieces in the repertory is rendered as The Marriage of Figaro. The…
Author: Alexander Hall
A disconcerting new Ariadne auf Naxos at Hamburg State Opera
The problem with all myths is that there is no such thing as an Urtext. They’re handed down from one generation to the next, and it’s a very long stretch from…
The Nash Ensemble celebrate 60 years in and with style
There are few composers with an innate ability to write so captivatingly for the human voice as Richard Strauss. Towards the very end of his career, in 1947, he offered…
Of human suffering: the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s powerful Shostakovich Babi Yar
You’d have to be a strange kind of human being not to smell death in Shostakovich’s Thirteenth Symphony. Icy, spooky and deeply unsettling orchestral sounds at the outset give way…
Fine singing in English National Opera’s new production of The Elixir of Love
OK, so here’s the deal. I can sell you a love potion which will make the object of your desire fall head over heels in love with you. Guaranteed. You…
Why aligning yourself with Satanic forces is never a good idea: Staatsoper Hamburg’s new production of Der Freischütz
It’s not an uncommon experience for people to wake up in the middle of the night, believing they have heard unsettling noises, or feeling those early palpitations of concern about…
Fun and games in Vienna: the Guildhall’s Die Fledermaus
Beware the dangers of playing pranks on friends who might nurse their grudges until the right moment presents itself to seek redress. Revenge is after all a dish best served…
In times of want: English National Opera’s La bohème
Away from all the bright lights, the mesmerising world of show business, there’s another world: the world of the poor, the needy and the downtrodden. Who ever thought such a…
Razzmatazz and reflection in Poulenc’s Gloria
For someone who was largely self-taught, Poulenc certainly knew how to get the attention of audiences and hold it. In many ways he was your preternatural French composer: elegant, yet…
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Rite of Spring: His Snegurotchka (The Snow Maiden)
Back in the dim and distant past there was climate change too. In the fairy tale that forms the narrative thread of Rimsky-Korsakov’s third and favourite opera, The Snow Maiden,…