Robert Carsen’s new production of Aida at the Royal Opera House

Finding myself with an hour to kill before a performance of Robert Carsen’s new production of Aida at the Royal Opera House earlier this week, I settled down in a…

Chiaroscuro expressionism: Keith Warner’s Otello is revived at the Royal Opera House

Keith Warner’s Otello is a crucible of darkness and light.  The minimalism of Warner’s conception and design seemed even more striking to me during the opening night of this second…

Così fan tutte at the Royal Opera House

First unveiled in 2016, this second revival of Jan Philipp Gloger’s Così fan tutte remains self-consciously preoccupied with the question, ‘What is theatre?’  While his interview in the souvenir programme…

A Wounded Butterfly at Covent Garden

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, beautiful though it is, presents issues for contemporary values; hence the current rethink of the Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier production.  The Royal Opera brought in Japanese…

Samson et Dalila at the Royal Opera House

To describe Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila as ‘old-fashioned’ doesn’t seem controversial.  The French composer’s score harks back to the past with its allusions to Handelian fugue and Bachian chorale, betraying…

Royal Opera House launches 2022/23 apprenticeship programme

The Royal Opera House has announced the launch of its 2022/23 apprenticeship programme, which offers nine apprentices high-quality training and two years of paid employment at one of London’s leading…

Damiano Michieletto’s Don Pasquale returns to the Royal Opera House

In one sense, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale hinges on a slap.  In a fit of pique, Norina lashes out at the eponymous wealthy, stubborn old man whom she’s duped, when he…

Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House

Considering the first night of David Alden’s (then) new production of Lohengrin in 2018, I found ‘a conceptual weakness at … [its] heart. I suspect it can be remedied: if…

Angel Blue excels as Violetta at the Royal Opera House

Another revival of Richard Eyre’s seemingly timeless production of La traviata (first unveiled in 1994) has returned to the Royal Opera House.  It provides a further opportunity to hear yet…

Royal Opera House announces special fundraising concerts and stream for Ukraine 

Today, the Royal Opera House unveils a series of fundraising initiatives in support of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.     On Good Friday 15 April 2022, at 4.30pm, Ukrainian Oksana Lyniv joins Music Director of The…