Wilton’s Music Hall, London Peter Brook’s take on Bizet squeezes all the famous tunes into an economic, stripped-down production for four, but demanded too much of these singers Strip all the packaging off Bizet’s Carmen – the cigarette factory girls, the...
Royal Opera House, London Katie Mitchell’s intelligent production of Donizetti’s opera - here on its first revival - takes plenty of worthwhile liberties, and soprano Lisette Oropesa as Lucia is sensational Last April, Katie Mitchell was upfront about the...
Flórez/Orchestra La Scintilla/Minasi (Sony) Mozart hasn’t featured much in the stellar career of tenor Juan Diego Flórez, but this disc suggests that some roles at least could suit him very nicely. Not so much the fresh-faced, boyish heroes of The Magic Flute and Così...
Glyndebourne, Lewes Hytner’s sunny, unironic staging of Mozart’s problematic comedy – about to tour for a final time – is one of the most intelligent and insightful around Glyndebourne has always honoured Mozart as its patron saint. That’s good for Glyndebourne and,...
Kozena/Fink/Gerhaher/Finley/Selig/LSO/LSC/Rattle LSO Live The LSO’s January 2016 performances of Debussy’s opera at the Barbican in London, conducted by Simon Rattle and semi-staged by Peter Sellars, have been beautifully transferred to CD, and the result is a credit...
Arcayürek/Lepper (Champs Hill) It’s been a while since we’ve had a debut disc as engaging as this. Born in Istanbul, raised in Vienna, Ilker Arcayürek has the kind of airy, easily ringing tenor that puts across words beautifully, with power in reserve yet a hint of...
Barbican, London Daisy Evan’s bold new version – reflecting on national identity – was strongly performed, but the update failed to bring much needed coherence to Dryden’s vast text Purcell’s King Arthur has long been a problematic work. It’s not quite an opera, not...