Mainly Opera and Ballet
This new production by the Welsh National Opera portrays Grimes, brilliantly performed by Nicky Spence, as a bully. Brutal but with a hugely vulnerable side that is desperate for the love of the young widow Ellen Orford. She would take him in a heartbeat, but he insists on acquiring the respect of the local community …
Silently, each nun leaves the stage. The swish of the guillotine is heard, and a pair of shoes comes flying across to hit the opposite stage wall. The little group of nuns slowly reduces in number, and the pairs of shoes are a reminder of the Nazi Holocaust. The director Barrie Kosky has created a …
Wonderful energy from the children, as various animals and woodland mushrooms, gave colour to an otherwise dull production, set in a wood yard. Some excellent singing from the Vixen, the Fox, and the humans who live in a far more circumscribed world than the animals. My review in The Article.
Wonderful revival of Rusalka under the baton of Robin Ticciati reminds us how forces of destiny defy human agency in this Dvořák opera. Beautiful phrasing and clarity of tone by Sally Matthews in the title role brings out the purity of this water creature that can never quite become warm flesh and blood — my review …
Thomas Adès’ previous opera The Tempest, set on Prospero’s mysterious island, finds a counterpoint here in the ostensibly mundane setting of an elegant dinner party — but all is not as it seems. Both operas feature very high soprano roles, Ariel in the Tempest and three of the ladies in Angel, again with the idea of …
When the performance began I wondered whether Glyndebourne had made the right decision in bringing Seraglio to the Proms, as opposed to one of their other new productions such as Donizetti’s Poliuto or Handel’s Saul, which would have sounded well in the Albert Hall. Mozart’s Seraglio, performed in Glyndebourne under its original title Die Entführung …
For a summer evening in a relatively intimate theatre this Mozart Singspiel, making its 197th performance at Glyndebourne, is perfect. Yet the production by David McVicar is entirely new. Sensitive and stylish, with excellent designs by Vicki Mortimer, beautifully lit by Paule Constable, it brings out the strong points and charming absurdities of this engaging …
Premiered at the Netherlands Opera in 1997, Robert Carsen’s award winning production has done the rounds before making its London debut as the first Carmélites at the ROH since 1983. Aesthetically abstract, it uses clever lighting on an open stage, and the vast number of chorus and extras emphasise the mass psychology underpinning the reign …
If you demand this opera in eighteenth century costume — and I overheard some in the audience who did — then forget it. But if you are happy to see a more up to date interpretation, then this is a winner. It’s the 1960s and Almaviva is one of the nouveau riche, possibly a pop star, …
