Spot-lit in the prevailing darkness, Gustav von Aschenbach frowns restively as he picks up an hour-glass from a desk strewn with literary paraphernalia, objects d’art, time-pieces and a pair of tall candles in silver holders – by the light of which, so Thomas Mann tells us in his novella Death in Venice, the elderly writer ‘would offer up to art, for two or three ardently conscientious morning hours, the strength he had garnered during sleep’.
Author: Claire Seymour
Philip Glass’s OrphÈe at English National Opera
Jean Cocteau’s 1950 OrphÈe – and Philip Glass’s chamber opera based on the film – are so closely intertwined it should not be a surprise that this new production for English National Opera often seems unable to distinguish the two. There is never a shred of ambiguity that cinema and theatre are like mirrors, a recurring feature of this production; and nor is there much doubt that this is as opera noir it gets.
Sarah Wegener sings Strauss and Jurowski’s shattering Mahler
A little under a month ago, I reflected on Vladimir Jurowski’s tempi in Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’. That willingness to range between extremes, often within the same work, was a very striking feature of this second concert, which also fielded a Mahler symphony – this time the Fifth. But we also had a Wagner prelude and Strauss songs to leave some of us scratching our heads.
A lukewarm performance of Berlioz’s RomÈo et Juliette from the LSO and Tilson Thomas
A double celebration was the occasion for a packed house at the Barbican: the 150th
anniversary of Berlioz’s birth, alongside Michael Tilson Thomas’s fifty-year association with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Mahler’s Third Symphony launches Prague Symphony Orchestra’s UK tour
The Anvil in Basingstoke was the first location for a strenuous seven-concert UK tour by the Prague Symphony Orchestra – a venue-hopping trip, criss-crossing the country from Hampshire to Wales, with four northern cities and a pit-stop in London spliced between Edinburgh and Nottingham.
From Darkness into Light: Antoine Brumel’s Complete Lamentations of Jeremiah for Good Friday
As a musicologist, particularly when working in the field of historical documents, one is always hoping to discover that unknown score, letter, household account book – even a shopping list or scribbled memo – which will reveal much about the composition, performance or context of a musical work which might otherwise remain embedded within or behind the inscrutable walls of the past.
Rigoletto past, present and future: a muddled production by Christiane Lutz for Glyndebourne Touring Opera
Charlie Chaplin was a master of slapstick whose rag-to-riches story – from workhouse-resident clog dancer to Hollywood legend with a salary to match his status – was as compelling as the physical comedy that he learned as a member of Fred Karno’s renowned troupe.
Rinaldo Through the Looking-Glass: Glyndebourne Touring Opera in Canterbury
Robert Carsen’s production of Rinaldo, first seen at Glyndebourne in 2011, gives a whole new meaning to the phrases ‘school-boy crush’ and ‘behind the bike-sheds’.
Predatory power and privilege in WNO’s Rigoletto at the Birmingham Hippodrome
At a party hosted by a corrupt and dissolute political leader, wealthy patriarchal predators bask in excess, prowling the room on the hunt for female prey who seem all too eager to trade their sexual favours for the promise of power and patronage. ‘Questa o quella?’ the narcissistic host sings, (this one or that one?), indifferent to which woman he will bed that evening, assured of impunity.
Bampton Classical Opera’s Young Singers’ Competition – Winner Announced
Bampton Classical Opera is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2019 Young Singers’ Competition is soprano Lucy Anderson. The runner-up prize has been awarded jointly to soprano Daniella Sicari and mezzo-soprano Carolyn Holt. The winner of the accompanists’ prize, a new category since 2017, is Dylan Perez, who accompanied Lucy Anderson.