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…

Outward 18th Century Charm with Insights into Character for Glyndebourne’s New The Marriage of Figaro

Mariame Clément’s new production of Le nozze di Figaro doesn’t throw any big or provocative ideas at Mozart’s perennial masterpiece – a mainstay for Glyndebourne and its most performed opera…

A Memorable and Musically Superb Pelléas et Mélisande from Longborough Festival Opera

Bare light bulbs, dazzling lighting rigs and handheld torches dominate Jenny Ogilvie’s new staging of Pelléas et Mélisande at Longborough Festival Opera. The production fulfils a long-held dream by the…

Wolf Trap Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro: Mozart Marries Picasso

Having experienced Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Wolf Trap amphitheater two years ago, I was prepared to enjoy an operatic evening in the outdoors in going to see The Marriage…

A Captivating & Immersive Eugene Onegin from Wild Arts Opera

What a rare pleasure it was to encounter Wild Arts Opera at Layer Marney Tower in rural Essex. Amongst the delights within its fourth summer season, was the immersive experience…

Die Fledermaus splutters into life at the Grange Festival

Grange Festival’s Fledermaus is a sprawling new production which improves with each act and ends with rib-tickling gags from flamboyant cabaret artiste Myra du Bois. By the time you’ve finished…

At Fifty, OTSL Comes Full Circle with Don Pasquale

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is celebrating fifty fabulous years with this festival, and by returning to the first opera it ever presented, Don Pasquale, it has mined anniversary gold.…

Haunting House in the Gateway City

With its stylish festival level performance of the fiercely original piece, This House, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis continues its almost unrivaled record for commissioning and staging World Premieres. This…

A Mafia Widow: Lehár’s ever-popular score undergoes a transplant

It’s been a while: well, over 40 years, since I heard Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe, in an amdram production just outside of Manchester in which I was playing French horn.…

Saint Louis Strauss Drives Audiences Batty

Unrelenting, raucous animation was the salient characteristic that pervaded Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ lively version of that evergreen favorite, Die Fledermaus (The  Bat), and the capacity audience roared in…