Handbags at Dawn: Carmen at the ENO
“Carmen, Bizet’s masterpiece, was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1875 where it initially received only limited success before catching the imagination of opera lovers everywhere.”
Browsing: Music
Don Giovanni at the ENO
“I saw a man synonymous with the blackest of black arts. A charmer, of course, and charismatic with it, but a figure so mired in treachery and deceit that one’s blood runs cold to see this shameless exhibitionist let loose upon the world.”
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Monday evenings are hard to satisfy, aren’t they? Too early in the week to make…
Album Review: Kristina Train – Dark Black
Ahead of an interview I have coming up soon with Kristina Train, I reviewed the Savannah,…
Julius Caesar at the ENO
“I would never have imagined Caesar in cowboy boots. Having said that, nor would I have pictured Ptolemy wielding a croquet bat as his weapon of choice.” Handel’s ‘Julius Caesar’ at the English National Opera…
Fauré’s Requiem at St Martin-in-the-Fields
“We had a direct view of the English Chamber Choir and orchestra; the Belmont Ensemble of London, conscientiously tuning their instruments and awaiting the conductor’s signal to begin…”
Magnificent Mozart: The Magic Flute
“Long considered a masterpiece in the ENO repertoire, the opening night of the final ever revival of Nicholas Hytner’s well-loved production of The Magic Flute was seen as many as like parting from a good friend.”
Sue Me: Guys and Dolls
Any audience would have understandably high expectations of a concert version of the hit Broadway…
An Emotional Roller-Coaster: Carousel
”If it weren’t so enjoyable, one might be tempted to call it opera” – so said theatre critic Brooks Atkinson re-assessing Carousel some years after its first premiere.
The London Chamber Orchestra
“With Julian Lloyd Webber on cello, it was an awe-inspiring conclusion to a programme of some of the finest English music ever produced.” Rebecca visits the LCO at Chelsea’s Cadogan Hall…
Cape Town Opera’s Porgy and Bess
To my mind, not enough operas open with a fist fight. La Boheme – just…
The Bliss of Benny Goodman
“Julian Bliss is surely a case for the progressive education movement, a shining example of nature versus nuture. At the age of five he decided to pick up a clarinet of all things, and learn to play it.”