Opera
Yet another Tosca set in a militaristic dystopia?
Annilese Miskimmon, the artistic director of English National Opera, has asked critics not to reveal the ending of her new…
Opera’s obsession with the Eastern bloc
There was a fad a while back for photo books about Eastern bloc architecture. Derelict megastructures, brutalist monuments; you couldn’t…
Royal Opera’s maddeningly erratic Parsifal
If the Royal Opera’s new Parsifal had ended after Act One, you’d be reading right now that it was one…
Meet the man behind Royal Opera’s new Parsifal
Evgeny Titov has landed at the Royal Opera, and he has good news for Britain’s beleaguered opera scene. ‘It’s the…
When will I see a Carmen set in 19th-century Seville?
No critic sets out to be a reactionary, even though it’s much easier that way. There’s no real satisfaction in…
The genius of Romeo Castellucci
Birds do not sing. They bleep and rattle and buzz like a dial-up modem. That we consider what comes out…
This giant of romanticism deserves so much more
Pity Carl Maria von Weber. On the morning of 5 June 1826 a servant knocked on the door of his…
A Sound of Music with brains as well as heart
If you’re interested in how words work with music, the collected lyrics of Stephen Sondheim are an investment you’ll never…
Lisette Oropesa triumphs in I puritani
Vincenzo Bellini realised early on that as titles go, Le teste rotonde ed i cavalieri (The Roundheads and the Cavaliers)…
A spectacular new staging of L’Orfeo
Say what you like about Monteverdi, but he knew how to get his audience on side. ‘I greet you, heroes,…
An entertaining Rheingold from Grange Park Opera
Grange Park Opera has acquired a new chandelier for its theatre at West Horsley; a jumble of foliage and fairy…
Delightful Rossini at Glyndebourne
It’s impossible to say what Rossini would have made of Glyndebourne’s production of Il turco in Italia, but you can…
A first-class production of Puccini’s Western
Nature smiled on the opening week of Opera Holland Park’s new season. There’s no better advertisement for semi-outdoor opera than…
The Arts Council’s bleak vision for the future of opera
English National Opera’s first production created in Manchester is Angel’s Bone, a one-act opera by Du Yun and the librettist…
The artistic collapse of Welsh National Opera
On the first night of Welsh National Opera’s new Flying Dutchman, the company’s co-directors walked on stage to salute their…
An outstanding Turn of the Screw
Never let it be said that The Spectator fails to follow up an arts story. Long-term readers will recall that…
Royal Opera’s Siegfried is magnificent
Covent Garden’s new Ring cycle has reached Siegfried, and once again, you can only marvel at Wagner’s Shakespeare-like ability to…
An opera that will actually make you laugh
‘What we want is proper comedy!’ bellows the male chorus in the opening seconds of Prokofiev’s L’amour des trois oranges…
In defence of Katie Mitchell
Janacek’s The Makropulos Case is a weird and very wonderful opera, but its basic plot isn’t hard to follow. Still,…
A cracking little 1967 opera that we ought to see more often
Ravel’s L’heure espagnole is set in a clockmaker’s shop and the first thing you hear is ticking and chiming. It’s…
A Magic Flute that will make you weep
English Touring Opera has begun its autumn season and the miracle isn’t so much that they’re touring at all these…
Handel was derided in his own time – particularly by us, for which belated apologies
Here’s a patriotic thought for you: baroque opera, as we now know it, was made in Britain. Sure, there are…
Northern Ireland Opera have a hit: Follies reviewed
Never judge a musical by its score alone. Even more than with opera, the music is only ever half the…
Anna Netrebko’s still got it
In the opera world, you’re never far from a Tosca and last week we had two of them, both brand…
