Mainly Opera and Ballet
Terrific performances by Moldovan soprano Natalia Tanasii as Tatyana and British-Singaporean mezzo Fleur Barron as Olga in an excellent production by Michael Boyd. They headed a fine cast under the baton of Douglas Boyd (no relation), who fully brought out the emotional intensity of Tchaikovsky’s music. My review in The Article.
This new minimalist production strips away the usual setting, and concentrates on the characters’ interactions with one another and the sexual yearnings that drive them all. The staging allows the performers to connect directly with the audience — see 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 …
This is exactly what the English National Opera should be doing: staging operas in comprehensible productions with a strong cast of mainly British singers. Sadly their bad press in recent years is partly due to productions that say more about the director than the opera, and singers from abroad who do not measure up to …
As an old opera buff once told me, anyone confused by the story line in Khovanshchina should simply treat it as a series of tableaux — wise advice since Mussorgsky telescoped the history of three different uprisings onto a massive musical canvas painted with emotional confrontations, religious fundamentalism, human ambition and a struggle for the …
The moment the orchestra plunged into Tchaikovsky’s overture they promised a superb reading of the score under the baton of Ed Gardner, and we were treated to a musical performance full of energy, tension and passion. One only regrets that this was Gardner’s last opera as music director for the ENO before taking over as …
The revival of this ENO production had its first night on the 221st anniversary of the death of Marie-Antoinette, the first queen to perform in the original play by Beaumarchais. This was at her private house in Versailles, and the king then banned public performances, until in 1784 it opened at the Comédie Française in …
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, …
… here at Longborough I wouldn’t have wanted Act I to last a minute less, because Daniel Brenna and Colin Judson were riveting as Siegfried and Mime.
