Schubert’s first song-cycle is a perfect choice with which to open a
new concert season, and the Wigmore Hall was packed on Friday evening in
anticipation of this recital by tenor Mark Padmore, much admired for the focus
and concentration of his ‘story-telling’, and Paul Lewis, one of
the most expressive and poetic of pianists today.
Category: Reviews
Die schˆne M¸llerin by Mark Padmore, Wigmore Hall
Haydn’s Le pescatrici at Bampton Classical Opera
Bampton Classical Opera have two areas of specialism: little-known gems of the late eighteenth-century and ‘opera in adversity’.
Cecilia Bartoli: Maria
While the cover of this Decca two-DVD set mirrors that of Cecilia Bartoli’s 2007 CD, Maria, the contents are not identical.
Humour and horror — Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre at the ENO, London
A massive female figure fills the whole stage at the ENO for Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre, in this amazing production from La Fura del Bas. (Alex OllÈ). This production is so inherently dramatic that it brings Ligeti’s “anti-opera” onto a new level as theatre.art. .
Anna Karenina: An Opera by David Carlson, Libretto by Colin Graham
Reading the articles in the booklet for this set, it becomes clear that librettist Colin Graham was the driving force behind this opera’s creation.
Return to the Origins — Chamber Opera in Crisis Times
Chamber opera is coming back after a period when it appeared to be confined to experimental works.
Gustav Mahler: Symphony no. 4 in G major
The legacy of the late conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli includes a number of fine recordings of Mahler’s music, and among them is his Deutsche Grammophon recording of the composer’s Fourth Symphony with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the soprano Edita Gruberova.
Wigmore Hall Song Competition
‘It’s a personal choice’ / ‘Of course he won – he was the only one who sang songs’ / ‘I’ll be happy if anyone but the first one wins’ (he won) / ‘There’s only one possible choice – the third one’ (he came second)
Handel/arranged by Mendelssohn: Israel in Egypt
If, dear reader, a desire has ever swept over you (a desire such as a pregnant woman’s craving for vanilla ice cream with pickles) to hear music reminiscent of both Messiah and the Fingal’s Cave overture, CPO is just the musical ice cream parlor/deli for you.
Verdi: La battaglia di Legnano
The true opera fan devotes almost as much time, if not more, to the “what might have been” careers as to those of the superstars.