Satyagraha, English National Opera, ENO at the London Coliseum, February 2010
Posted on 26 February 2010The production … has a rather ethereal quality, and as a friend of mine said, “I was left humming peaceful thoughts all the way home”.
Monthly Archives: February 2010
The Elixir of Love, English National Opera, ENO at the London Coliseum, February 2010
Posted on 25 February 2010… Sarah Tynan singing beautifully as a charmingly shrewd Adina …
The Promise, Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond-on-Thames, February 2010
Posted on 23 February 2010This play is entertaining and wonderfully informative — not to be missed, though I understand the present run is almost sold out!
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rose Theatre, Kingston-on-Thames, February 2010
Posted on 21 February 2010The play was produced in about 1595, at a time when Shakespeare’s company, the Chamberlain’s Men, were regularly playing to Elizabeth’s court and it’s quite likely she saw it. In any event it was a masterstroke of Peter Hall to have Judi Dench play the part of Titania, and I found her entirely convincing.
Triple Bill: As One, Rushes, Infra, Royal Ballet, February 2010
Posted on 20 February 2010The second item, Rushes — Fragments of a Lost Story, by Kim Brandstrup is a beautiful description of a relationship between a man and two women.
The Gambler, Royal Opera, February 2010
Posted on 19 February 2010In the last two productions I’ve seen … the stage has been darkly lit, in keeping with the coldness and scheming inherent in the story, but this production by … is quite different.
Wagner at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a retrospective, February 2010
Posted on 17 February 2010Five Wagner operas in six days … was quite a marathon, but well worth it, particularly for three of the productions.
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wagner Wochen, February 2010
Posted on 15 February 2010Rossini’s comment that, “Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour” was spoken before Die Meistersinger was created, and this opera has, for me, not a dull moment — it’s one glorious thing after another. Of course a determined director can spoil it, as happened at Bayreuth this past summer in Katharina Wagner’s diabolical production, …
Tannhäuser, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wagner Wochen, February 2010
Posted on 13 February 2010… what really made the evening was Stephen Gould’s Tannhäuser. He was forceful and articulate with a superb tone and strong stage presence. This is the sort of singer one wants as Tristan or Siegfried — Covent Garden please note.
Der fliegende Holländer, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wagner Wochen, February 2010
Posted on 12 February 2010I’m afraid Tatjana Gürbaca was not up to the job. She was probably more concerned with her own strange concept, in which the men were shown as financial traders, and the women as performers and party girls.