Loewe: the German word for lion. There was Lerner and Loewe, of course. Except that the 20th century example of Loewe is rarely mentioned on its own. But there is…
An Inspiring Medea at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus
The Ancient Theater of Epidaurus is the world’s largest non-amplified performance space, seating 14,000 spectators. Each summer the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, almost exclusively devoted to ancient Greek drama, attracts…
An Impressive Ring Cycle Opener from Grange Park Opera’s Das Rheingold
It takes some nerve to initiate a Ring cycle in a country house setting with relatively modest resources in comparison to the major opera companies. But this is Wasfi Kani…
Streetcar Leaves Nothing to be Desired in Saint Louis
With its riveting production of André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis has dramatically reinforced its stature as one of the nation’s finest summer festivals. First,…
Glyndebourne’s First Orfeo Is Musically Outstanding but Hampered by an Overloaded Staging
Although not the earliest opera, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (1607) is the first masterpiece of the genre, and surprisingly Glyndebourne has never staged it before. It fits in with the festival’s present…
Psychological Insight Allied with an Enthralling Musical Account of Tristan and Isolde at Longborough
Wagner described his epoch-making Tristan und Isolde as a monument erected to the ‘most beautiful dream’ of happiness in love, implying that this is an illusion lying beyond everyday reality,…
Saint Louis’ Achingly Tender Rendition of a Panoramic Piazza
Adam Guettel’s Tony Award-winning musical, The Light in the Piazza, is being lovingly served up in a magnificent staging at this year’s Opera Theatre of Saint Louis season. It may…
Fervour and Commitment from Chelsea Opera Group in Mozart’s Precocious Idomeneo
Although Idomeneo (1781) is Mozart’s first indisputable operatic masterpiece and was a work for which he retained considerable affection, it still receives surprisingly few performances, either on stage or in concert.…
Handel’s Serse at Barbican
Most recently seen in March in a stunning Tamerlano at Shoreditch Town Hall as part of the 2026 London Handel Festival, Laurence Cummings and the Academy of Ancient Music now gave us…
Ravishing Gounod in Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is currently presenting an uncommonly compelling staging of Gounod’s luminous musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, performed in English, a key part of the branding…