The performance at the Wigmore Hall of Schubert’s Die schˆne M¸llerin by Florian Boesch and Malcolm Martineau was outstanding. Over several decades, I’ve heard hundreds of performances, but this was exceptionally perceptive.
Category: Performances
A Child of Our Time, Barbican Hall
The Barbican’s English oratorio series now reaches the twentieth century, with Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, though it will step back to The Dream of Gerontius next month.
Albert Herring, LA
The Los Angeles Opera, anticipating Benjamin Britten’s centennial gave
the composer, as well as its patrons, an early birthday present of performances
of his charming comic opera, Albert Herring.
Don Pasquale, San Diego
You can’t keep a good opera buffa down. And Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale is about as good as opera buffa gets.
Aida in Arizona
Two live camels with trainers in Egyptian garb were stationed in front of Phoenix’s Symphony Hall to publicize the opening of Arizona Opera’s new production of Aida.
Miss Fortune mis-fires, Royal Opera House
An absurd plot has never stood in the way of a good opera. Unfortunately, Judith Weir’s Miss Fortune at the Royal Opera House isn’t much of an opera.
A Physical Barber by ETO
For an operatic masterpiece The Barber of Seville is surprisingly tricky to do well, it is not one of those pieces which plays itself.
Byrd: The Englishman
In this stimulating and uplifting performance, The Cardinall’s Musick, led by director Andrew Carwood, continued their comprehensive project to examine the works of one of England’s greatest composers — William Byrd (c.1540—1623).
Elijah, Barbican Hall, London
The Barbican’s six-month series celebrating the English oratorio, has now reached Mendelssohn’s Elijah — or perhaps we should
follow the Victorians and refer to it as ‘the Elijah’, given that it was performed in English, in William Bartholomew’s translation.
Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals Concert
A major part of the rejuvenation of opera in the 21st century is the cultivation of young singers.