‘Love, viewed from the dark side’: Christof Loy’s production of Strauss’s Elektra at the Royal Opera House

Skimming through some of the critical literature on the myth of Electra – who, following the murder of her father, the Mycenaean King Agamemnon, at the hands of her mother…

A children-friendly Hansel and Gretel at Covent Garden

Hunger and gluttony; poverty and glamour; homelessness and tinselly angels; the reality of rags and the sparkle of magic.  The stark juxtapositions evident on the Strand, during my walk from…

Handel’s Jephtha at the Royal Opera House

Voices cut through the darkness, chanting in prayer.  A candle flickers centre-stage.  These are potent symbols of the fundamentalism and fire that drive Handel’s Jephtha and of the battle between…

A hard and heartless Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House

One of my opera-loving friends, a singer and musician herself and a regular devotee of both opera and ballet at the Royal Opera House and elsewhere, never attends performances of…

‘Grand passions and great singing’: Christof Loy’s La forza del destino returns to Covent Garden

This was an evening of big voices and grand theatrical vision.  When Christof Loy’s production of Verdi’s La forza del destino was first seen at the Royal Opera House, in…

Strikingly impressive Das Rheingold from the Royal Opera House

One might argue with Covent Garden’s pre-publicity claim that this Rheingold is‘a bold new imagining’, but this first collaboration between director Barrie Kosky and conductor Anthony Pappano brings a wonderfully…

A magnificent Philip II rescues Covent Garden’s revival of Don Carlo

Irrespective of the version of Don Carlo used, or the language in which it is sung, this is an uneven opera. The Verdi of the first two acts is, in…

Woman at Point Zero at the Royal Opera House

Nawal El Saadawi’s 1975 novel, Woman at Point Zero, presents an ‘eve of death-row’ narrative which is a chilling indictment of patriarchal society.  An Egyptian woman, Firdaus, has been convicted…

An underwhelming Il trovatore at the Royal Opera House

There are those productions that linger in the memory for months, even years. Then there are those that fade all too quickly from consciousness, consigned to history and best forgotten.…

Arminio at the Royal Opera House

Arminio was the first new opera in Handel’s 1736-37 season at Covent Garden, performed for the first time on 12th January 1737.  After six performances it was withdrawn and remained…