Under the direction of Baroque specialist David Bates, La Nuova Musica joined forces with the German a capella ensemble Voktett Hannover to reveal two sides of French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier.…
Author: David Truslove
Spotlight on Carissimi from Vox Luminis
Two death sentences; one fatal, one reprieved, and a near-fatal encounter with a whale. These events formed the central focus of dramatic performances by the Belgium ensemble Vox Luminis in…
Compelling performances from OperaUpClose:
Riders to the Sea & The Last Bit of the Moon
What does one perform with Vaughan Williams’s seldom heard one act tragedy about a mother who has lost her last surviving son somewhere off the west coast of Ireland? Drawn…
A powerful and unsettling Aida at the Royal Opera House
An empty stage enclosing grey walls of a concrete bunker. This is the initial impression we have of Robert Carsen’s Aida, presented at the Royal Opera House in a first revival by Gilles…
Gesualdo Six captivate a full house at St. Cross, Winchester
You can count on the fingers of one hand those a cappella vocal groups within the UK that come close to the finesse of The Gesualdo Six. In terms of…
Antonio Pappano reveals Puccini’s La rondine in all its sunlit splendour
“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.” This opening line from chapter three of Charles…
ENO’s fun-filled Pirates of Penzance
Currently showing at the Coliseum, few would argue this revival of Mike Leigh’s Pirates of Penzance isn’t entertaining. Never mind the absurd storyline involving an apprentice pirate whose wish to…
Flamboyant Rake’s Progress from Opéra national de Paris
The stars are truly aligned for this latest revival of Olivier Py’s Rake’s Progress, a glitzy production first unveiled at the Palais Garnier in 2008. Underpinned by a strong international…
ENO’s Rigoletto still makes dramatic sense
Jonathan Miller’s Mafioso-style Rigoletto, first unveiled in 1982, would seem to be imperishable and has returned yet again to the Coliseum. If the set has not already been infested with…
Georgian born and Italian-trained singer George Andguladze debuts at the Royal Opera House
David Truslove talks to the operatic bass George Andguladze who makes his Covent Garden debut as the King of Egypt in Verdi’s Aida. Conducted by Daniel Oren, this is the…