Monthly Archives: February 2014

A brace of ghost ships

Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer/ Dietsch: Le vaisseau fantôme (Naïve) *** One of the more enterprising celebrations to mark Wagner’s bicentenary last year now arrives on disc courtesy of Naïve. Conductor Marc Minkowski had been considering recording Die Feen, but opted … Continue reading

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Interview: Ailyn Pérez

Ailyn Pérez made a welcome return visit to The Royal Opera a few weeks ago to sing two performances of Massenet’s Manon, marking the first of a trio of roles at the House in the coming months. After wowing London … Continue reading

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Sumptuously designed, but is this Rigoletto a ‘keeper’?

Verdi: Rigoletto *** English National Opera, 13th February 2014 The final revival in 2009 of Jonathan Miller’s Little Italy mafioso production of Rigoletto, a classic at English National Opera since it opened in 1982, was my first Opera Britannia review. … Continue reading

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No brimstone as Kasper Holten turns Don Giovanni on its head

Mozart: Don Giovanni **** The Royal Opera, 12th February 2014 Jean-Paul Sartre closes No Exit with the line, “Hell is other people” (“L’enfer, c’est les autres”), yet in Kasper Holten’s new production of Don Giovanni, Hell is quite the opposite … Continue reading

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Turbo-charged arias: Nino Surguladze in recital

Nino Surguladze: Rosenblatt Recital *** Wigmore Hall, 10th February 2014 I wonder if Georgian mezzo-soprano Nino Surguladze is a secret fan of Top Gear? She certainly took Jeremy Clarkson’s maxim of “Power!” to heart in the operatic opening half to … Continue reading

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