Beethoven was none too sure about his only opera, Fidelio. When librettist Friedrich Treitschke set about revising the first versions of the opera, originally titled Leonore, oder Der Triumph der…
Category: Staged Operas
Verdi’s Macbeth opens Lyric Opera of Chicago 2021–22 Season
With a new production by Sir David McVicar of Giueppe Verdi’s Macbeth Lyric Opera of Chicago has opened its new season and recommenced live performances on stage with audience. In…
Mid Wales Opera tour Puccini’s dark-hued Il tabarro
Mid Wales Opera is back! Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this enterprising touring company launched its autumn season with Puccini’s one act tragedy Il tabarro. It was given at Brecon’s Theatr…
Handelian magic from English Touring Opera at the Hackney Empire
‘A production in which there is more invention, variety, and good composition, than in any one of the musical dramas of Handel which I have yet carefully and critically examined.’…
Mattila and Grigorian excel in Claus Guth’s new production of Jenůfa at Covent Garden
When Gabriela Preissová’s play, Její pastorkyňa (Her Stepdaughter), was produced for the first time, on 9th November 1890 at the National Theatre in Prague, it provoked a fierce debate between the advocates…
Gluck’s Paris and Helen: Bampton Classical Opera at St John’s Smith Square
Greek heroes are not unaccustomed to squaring up to the whims of gods and fortune, but in bringing Christoph Willibald Gluck’s account of the elopement of Paris, son of King…
Oliver Mears’ Rigoletto at Covent Garden: a superb drama of darkness and light
It was an absolute delight to be back at the Royal Opera House for the opening night of the 2021-22 season, but also somewhat disorientating. A full auditorium; convivial operagoers…
Amy Beach’s Cabildo at Wilton’s Music Hall: a Creole Beggar’s Opera
Pierre Lafitte (1770-1821) is a figure of swashbuckling legend. The French-born New Orleans merchant mariner-cum-pirate and his brother Jean ran an illicit trading network in defiance of the American, Spanish…
Hurn Court Opera’s Dido and Aeneas
An outing to the handsome Romanesque-revival church in Wilton, Wiltshire for a performance of Dido and Aeneas by Hurn Court Opera provided food for thought. Established in 2017, this Dorset-based…
Two Shows at Salzburg’s Rock Riding School
Mind-blowing productions of Strauss’ Elektra staged by Krzysztof Warlikowski and Luigi Nono’s Intolleranza 1960 staged by Jan Lauwers. [Lead photo is a detail of the back wall of Elektra covered…