Nutcracker, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, December 2020
Posted on 14 December 2020What a treat to be back at the Royal Opera House to watch The Nutcracker, despite the social distancing for dancers and audience. My review in The Article.
History of Sleeping Beauty, Royal Ballet 2019
Posted on 25 June 2020This is the interesting article in the ROH Sleeping Beauty Programme, courtesy of its author and the Royal Opera House. Behind the Fairytale by Sebastian Cody. The budget for the first production of The Sleeping Beauty ‘almost equalled the cost of two warships’, or so said a recent Russian expert. This is perhaps a slight …
Marriage of Figaro, English National Opera, ENO, March 2020
Posted on 16 March 2020This 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.
Così fan tutte, English Touring Opera, ETO, Hackney Empire, March 2020
Posted on 9 March 2020A delightful production in bright colours with a very fine young cast, all under the baton Holly Mathieson. My review in The Article.
Fidelio, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, March 2020
Posted on 2 March 2020The concept for this new production is excellent, though its presentation in Act II didn’t meet with audience approval. Wonderfully energetic conducting by Antonio Pappano, and Lise Davidsen in the title role was truly outstanding — my review in The Article.
Dances at a Gathering/ The Cellist, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, February 2020
Posted on 18 February 2020Dances at a Gathering with its wonderfully imaginative choreography by Jerome Robbins was sheer delight, followed by The Cellist, a new ballet by Cathy Marston on the life and loves of Jacqueline du Pré, based mainly on three dancers representing: her, the conductor (Barenboim) and a personification of the cello by a male dancer — …
Luisa Miller, English National Opera, ENO, London Coliseum, February 2020
Posted on 13 February 2020Wonderful performances of this Verdi opera despite a heavily psychological production involving dancers, a chorus dressed as clowns, Rodolfo and Luisa as young children, and avoiding one death on the basis that evil will always survive. My review in The Article.
Les Vêpres Siciliennes, Welsh National Opera, Cardiff, February 2020
Posted on 10 February 2020Following his hat trick of Il Trovatore, Rigoletto and La Traviata, Verdi satisfied a Paris commission with this work about the Sicilian uprising in 1282. French grand opera did not really suit Verdi, and the libretto by Eugène Scribe was a hack job, but the music is largely wonderful — my review in The Article.
Onegin, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, January 2020
Posted on 26 January 2020Tchaikovsky’s opera on Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin inspired John Cranko to create this ballet, which uses excerpts from other Tchaikovsky works put together by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. It makes a welcome return to Covent Garden with fine performances by Reece Clarke in the title role, Natalia Osipova as Olga, and Gary Avis as Prince Gremin — see my review in The …
Otello, Royal Opera, December 2019
Posted on 13 December 2019This first revival of Keith Warner’s dark 2017 production, once again under the baton of music director Antonio Pappano, was musically thrilling, with Ermonela Jaho as Desdemona, Gregory Kunde as Otello, and Carlos Álvarez as Iago — see my review in The Article.