This recent disc of Luciano Berio’s vocal music showcases the talents of the French mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot and the vocal and instrumental ensemble Le Cris de Paris. It begins with…
Category: Reviews
The music of celebrated American organist/choirmaster Gerre Hancock
This recent recording from New York’s Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is an affectionate tribute to the work of Dr. Gerre Hancock (1934-2012). The Texas-born musician was a…
Covid’s Metamorphoses: an anniversary Song Gala at Wigmore Hall leads the way to hope and renewal
A programme entitled Covid’s Metamorphoses might not seem a very auspicious way to celebrate a 120th anniversary, but, curated by pianist Graham Johnson, this special Song Gala placed themes of…
Handel in Rome: Ensemble Marsyas at Wigmore Hall
All roads lead to Rome. And, that’s where George Frideric Handel, not yet 22 years of age, arrived at the end of 1706. Eager to perfect his skills in composition…
Rossini’s Maometto II, in its Full Original Naples Version, Comes to Life Thanks to Flexible Young Singers at the “Rossini in Wildbad” Festival
I have written with enthusiasm about numerous recordings from the Rossini festival that is held each summer – well, except 2020 – in Wildbad (in Germany’s Black Forest region). One…
Met Stars Live in Concert: Three Divas
From Four Wagnerians to Three Divas; from the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden to the 250-year-old theatre of Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles. And, for Christine Goerke, from the opera stage…
Kát’a Kabanová at Glyndebourne: a caged bird sings
“I’d go out into the garden early in the morning, just as the sun was rising, I’d fall to my knees and pray and weep, and I wouldn’t know what…
A new La clemenza di Tito from Richard Jones at the ROH
Over fifteen months since I had last set foot in an opera house—for Carmen at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden—it felt extraordinary to be back. All else would be secondary.…
Music fit for an Emperor: Bampton Classical Opera at St John’s Smith Square
It’s a brave company that celebrates the return of live performance with an opera titled La corona, but ambitious, innovative and imaginative describe Bampton Classical Opera perfectly, and it was…
Handelian Pyrotechnics from William Towers
‘Pyrotechnics’, noun (plural): a public show of fireworks; a show of great skill, especially by a musician or someone giving a speech. William Towers’ recent recording of Handel arias, with…