Reviews
The Devil Came Up to Boston for Cerise Lim Jacobs’ New Opera, “REV. 23”
REVIEW of REV. 23, a new comic opera that sees beyond the End of Days, conceived and written by Cerise Lim Jacobs, with a score by Julian Wachner; performed September 29, September 30, and October 1, 2017 at Boston’s John Hancock Hall; viewed here September 30 and...
From the House of the Dead review – Welsh National Opera’s landmark staging demands to be heard
Millennium Centre, Cardiff Welsh National Opera’s revival brings David Pountney’s 1982 version back to grim and glorious life and restores Janáček’s original musical vision Janáček’s adaptation of Dostoevsky’s partly autobiographical novel, set in a Siberian prison...
Giulio Cesare and Dardanus review – ETO update Handel and make Rameau feel contemporary
Hackney Empire, London English Touring Opera’s ambitious autumn programme features two baroque operas that both deal with sex and war and the private and the political. English Touring Opera’s autumn season centres on two great baroque works, Handel’s Giulio Cesare...
Così fan tutte review – Nicholas Hytner’s irresistible production takes a bow
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,...
The Golden Dragon; Opera: Passion, Power and Politics – review
Birmingham Rep; V&A, London Peter Eötvös’s tragicomic opera about a Chinese immigrant worker cuts to the quick in Music Theatre Wales’s visceral production. At the V&A, hold on to your headphones… At first sight a jaunty skit on life in a Chinese restaurant –...
Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice at Lyric Opera of Chicago
The roles of Orphée, Eurydice, and Amour are sung by Dmitry Korchak, Adrianna Chuchman, and Lauren Snouffer. Dance sequences are performed by members of the Joffrey Ballet. The Lyric Opera Orchestra is conducted by Harry Bicket, while the Lyric Opera Chorus has been...
Review: Arabella at Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Oct. 5 2017
Richard Strauss’s Arabella (1933) had its triumphant Canadian premiere last night, opening the Canadian Opera Company’s 17/18 season. It is one of those operas that comes saddled with a ‘reputation,' often viewed as less than top drawer Strauss; hindered by creaky...
Michelle DeYoung, Mahler Symphony no 3 London
The concert was live streamed worldwide, an indication of just how important this concert was, for it marks the Philharmonia's 34-year relationship with Salonen. I missed the first concert in 1983 when a very young Salonen substituted at a few days’ notice. The score...
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande CD review – luxury casting and vivid performances under Rattle and Sellars
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...
Schubert: Der Einsame CD review – Young tenor Ilker Arcayürek is in a class on his own
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...
King Arthur at the Barbican: a semi-opera for the ‘Brexit Age’
Do we need to know the political context in which a work was created in order to fully appreciate its ‘worth’? Does that political context need to be made ‘relevant’ to present audiences? There are no simple or ‘right’ answers to those questions, but in the light of...
Elder conducts Lohengrin
There have been dozens of capable, and more than capable, recordings of Lohengrin. Among the most-often praised are the Sawallisch/Bayreuth (1962), Kempe (1963), Solti (1985), and Abbado (1991). Recording a major Wagner opera involves heavy costs that a record company...