Ostensibly, Victor Hugo’s play Le roi s’amuse satirised the licentious court of King Francis I of France, but at the play’s 1832 premiere in Paris the authorities thought the subject…
Handel’s Theodora at the Royal Opera House
Theodora is ‘coming home’ … but not as you know it, was the essential message of the press briefings issued by the Royal Opera House in the run up to…
A Musical Banquet: Iestyn Davies and Thomas Dunford
Hot off the press in 1610 was A Musicall Banquet furnished with varietie of delicious Ayres, Collected out of the best Authors in English, French, Spanish and Italian – a compilation…
Les Vêpres Siciliennes in Palermo
Ossia I Vespri Siciliani takes its name from the evening prayer to which the faithful are called by the ringing of bells. Specifically the bells of Verdi’s Sicilian vespers signal…
Kát’a Kabanova in Rome
The Opera di Roma marks the centenary of Janacek’s intimate domestic tragedy Kat’a Kabanova with a new cast for Richard Jones’ prize winning, 2019 Covent Garden production. Reportedly spell binding…
Exclusive first look behind the scenes of Katie Mitchell’s thrilling new production of Handel’s Theodora
Acclaimed director Katie Mitchell’s gripping new production of Handel’s Theodora opens at the Royal Opera House on Monday 31st January 2022. Not heard in Covent Garden since its 1750 premiere,…
Opera Holland Park’s 2022 Season: the continuing evolution of London’s greenest theatre
In 2021 Opera Holland Park unveiled a reimagined auditorium and performance space to reflect the natural beauty of the theatre’s setting and to allow for social distancing. Constructed from reclaimed…
Svadba: Ana Sokolović’s opera is creatively re-imagined through image and movement
In Germany, wedding guests smash piles of crockery the night before the ceremony, the custom of Polterabend being thought to bring good fortune to the bride and groom in their…
ETO at Home: Ferrandini’s Il pianto di Maria
English Touring Opera’s ETO at Home project has seen the company produce a series of films of operas, large scale vocal works, chamber music and song which can be viewed…
Mirages: Roderick Williams and Roger Vignoles explore the ‘art’ of French song
The repertory of French mélodie must comprise many thousands of songs. The genre, which developed in the early 1800s and reached full maturity in the second half of the century, was…