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…
Author: Yehuda Shapiro
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…
The Last Castrato Visits the Palace of Versailles
This concert, a tribute to the castrato Giovanni Battista Velluti (1780 –1861), packed both a theatrical and musical punch. Of course, the venue, the sumptuously decorated Salon d’Hercule in the…
Ravel’s Life Becomes an Opera at the Festival Ravel
The Festival Ravel, based in and around Saint-Jean-de-Luz – the delightful town on France’s Atlantic coast that neighbours Ravel’s birthplace Ciboure – was launched in its current form in 2021.…
Les Indes galantes – Discovered in Rural Hampshire
It is 12 years since Glyndebourne staged Hippolyte et Aricie, and eight since ETO showcased Dardanus, but perhaps Garsington’s success last summer with Rameau’s wicked comedy Platée will have prompted…
L’elisir d’amore sparkles at Garsington
Though firmly established as a theatre director – he is an Associate Artist of the RSC whose production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show has been touring for nearly 20…
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in Strauss and Ravel
We often get reminded that a review is just one person’s opinion. In this particular instance, I am going to be shamelessly subjective rather than assume some kind of position…
On a nature trail with Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Raës
Artfully arranged white lilies flanked Wigmore Hall’s stage, but roses were the flower of choice in the perfumed texts of the romances and mélodies performed by Cyrille Dubois and Tristan…
TRAB: The Rest is Dust premieres in Malta
On the Maltese islands, the principal venues for full-scale opera are the Astra and Aurora opera houses on Gozo. While Valletta can pride itself on the exquisite 18th century Teatro…
A movida Figaro at the Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music last presented Le nozze di Figaro in 2018, in a masterly production by Sir Thomas Allen, a rare example of a director who has sung…