Opera
To die for: Grange Park Opera’s Tristan & Isolde reviewed
There are a lot of corpses on stage at the end of Charles Edwards’s production of Tristan & Isolde for…
The final scenes are a knockout: Glyndebourne’s Don Giovanni reviewed
Are you supposed to laugh at the end of Don Giovanni? Audiences often do, and they did at the end…
WNO sinks an unsinkable opera: The Magic Flute, at Birmingham Hippodrome, reviewed
As stage directions go, the The Magic Flute opens with a zinger. ‘Tamino enters from the right wearing a splendid…
Dramatically powerful and sonically beguiling: Innocence, at the Royal Opera House, reviewed
Plus: a striking production of an operatic dud at ENO
The opera’s a masterpiece but the production doesn’t quite come off: ENO’s The Dead City reviewed
English National Opera has arrived at the Dead City, and who, before Christmas, would have given odds that this new…
Electrifying: London Handel Festival’s In the Realms of Sorrow, at Stone Nest, reviewed
Hector Berlioz dismissed Handel as ‘that tub of pork and beer’ but it wasn’t always like that. Picture a younger,…
Revival of the fittest
Opera North has begun 2023 with a couple of big revivals, and it’s always rewarding to call in on these…
The sonic equivalent of a Starbucks Eggnog Latte: ENO’s It’s a Wonderful Life reviewed
Whoosh! A digital starburst, a sweep of orchestral sound and the stage of the Coliseum is alive with dancing, whirling…
A towering achievement: ENO’s The Yeomen of the Guard reviewed
The screw may twist and the rack may turn: the Tower of London, in Jo Davies’s new production of The…
Bold, self-assured reimagining of Monteverdi: Opera North's Orpheus reviewed
You wouldn’t like Tamerlano when he’s angry. ‘My heart seethes with rage,’ he sings, in Act III of Handel’s opera…
More depravity, please: Salome, at the Royal Opera House, reviewed
The first night of the new season at Covent Garden was cancelled when the solemn news came through. The second…
An electrifying, immersive thrill: Scottish Opera's Candide reviewed
The first part of the adventure was getting there. Out of the subway, past the tower blocks and under the…
Convincing performances and unexpected sounds: Opera Holland Park's Delius/Puccini double bill reviewed
Delius and Puccini: how’s that for an operatic odd couple? Delius, that most faded of British masters, now remembered largely…
With everything working properly, this would have been a lot of fun: Grange Park's La Gioconda reviewed
There are composers who are known for a single opera, and there are operas that are known for only a…
Had the air of a Blue Peter Christmas special: Grange Festival's The Yeomen of the Guard reviewed
The Yeomen of the Guard has been called the ‘English Meistersinger’ but the more you think about that, the dafter…
A thoroughly enjoyable grand old heap of nothing: The Excursions of Mr Broucek reviewed
Sir David Pountney, it appears, has been to Prague. He’s booked himself a mini-break, he’s EasyJetted out, and after (one…
A completely satisfying operatic experience: Opera North’s Parsifal reviewed
When Parsifal finally returns to Montsalvat, it’s Good Friday. He’s trodden the path of suffering but now the sun is…
Serves Ethel Smyth's opera magnificently: Glyndebourne's The Wreckers reviewed
You’ve got to hand it to Dame Ethel Smyth. Working in an era when to be a British composer implied…
A fine cast, superbly conducted – just don't overthink the production: Royal Opera's Lohengrin reviewed
To be a Wagnerite is to enter the theatre in a state of paranoia. Mainstream culture has decided that Wagner…
Comes so close to greatness but succumbs to prejudice: Royal Opera's Peter Grimes reviewed
No question, the Royal Opera is on a roll. Just look at the cast list alone for Deborah Warner’s new…
Old-school excess, star power and spectacle: Royal Opera's Tosca reviewed
London felt like its old self on Friday night. Possibly it was just me; when you visit the capital once…
Turns Handel into a Netflix thriller: Royal Opera's Theodora reviewed
The Royal Opera has come over all baroque. In the Linbury Theatre, they’re hosting Irish National Opera’s production of Vivaldi’s…
