Simon Rattle’s twin traversal of the Janáček operas in concert in London and onstage in Berlin has now reached The Makropulos Case in the former, Claus Guth’s staging for the…
Category: Recitals/Concerts
Barber’s Vanessa Comes to Boston
Samuel Barber’s first opera, Vanessa, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958 – when serialist abstraction and stark realism dominated the world of modern opera. Many critics immediately dismissed it…
The Power to Inspire: Dame Sarah Connolly at Wigmore Hall
Composers have always been inspired to write for others: this is one of the rich seams of inventiveness running through so much music, old and new. Over many decades Dame…
A Mixed Messiah from AAM
… and so to my second and final Messiah this year. I mention this, despite the fact he first was reviewed for a different website: Wild Arts’ staged Messiah at…
Noël à la Chapelle: Magnificat
Christmas comes to Versailles, and the magnificent Chapelle Royale, courtesy of Le Poème Harmonique and Vincent Dumestre, one of the finest conductors of Baroque music around. There was even a…
A swallow returns: the elusive final version of Puccini’s La rondine
Although more associated with operas that really reside in the cracks of the repertoire, Opera Rara does investigate – or reconstruct – versions of better-known opera. Their release of the…
Carmina Burana at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago recently programmed several performances of Carl Orff’s secular cantata Carmina Burana as part of its fall roster. The soloists were Jasmine Habersham, soprano, David Portillo, tenor,…
Christmas at Wigmore Hall
‘Weihnachten – es naht die jubelvolle Zeit’ was written at the start of Wigmore Hall’s free programme: Christmas – the joyous time is approaching. Innit. And to celebrate the annual…
Handel and Scarlatti in Compare and Contrast Programme from Les Paladins at the Musée de l’Armée, Paris
Established in 2001, the French period instrument ensemble Les Paladins specialises in the performance and recording of rarely performed Baroque repertoire. The name derives from Rameau’s last comédie lyrique, and…
Romanian Music Shines in Recital with Bel Cantanti Opera Company and Nicolae Bretan Music Society
This month, for the first time, Bel Cantanti Opera Company and the Nicolae Bretan Music Foundation are joining forces to promote the composer’s legacy and Romanian music and culture in…