Monthly Archives: June 2016

Disobedient daughter, outraged wife: Wotan’s woes mount in Opera North’s Die Walküre

Wagner: Die Walküre **** Opera North, Royal Festival Hall, 29th June 2016 In Anna Russell’s wittily deadpan analysis of Wagner’s Ring cycle, she describes Wotan as “the head god” – pausing for dramatic effect before adding “and he’s a crashing … Continue reading

Posted in Concert, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Disobedient daughter, outraged wife: Wotan’s woes mount in Opera North’s Die Walküre

Dipping a toe into the Rhine: Wagner therapy from Opera North

Wagner: Das Rheingold **** Opera North, Royal Festival Hall, 28th June 2016 Richard Jones has a lot to answer for. His cartoon-kitsch Ring for The Royal Opera back in 1994-5 scarred me so deeply that I’ve been reluctant to return … Continue reading

Posted in Concert, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dipping a toe into the Rhine: Wagner therapy from Opera North

Nuns on the run: laughs aplenty in Chelsea Opera’s Le Comte Ory

Rossini: Le Comte Ory *** Chelsea Opera Group, 25th June 2016 Whether fortuitous or sly programming, all three operas performed by Chelsea Opera Group this season have featured nuns: Isabella, propositioned in Wagner’s early comedy Das Liebesverbot; Leonora, about to … Continue reading

Posted in Concert, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Nuns on the run: laughs aplenty in Chelsea Opera’s Le Comte Ory

Lisztian tempests: Marc-André Hamelin at Wigmore Hall

Liszt, Feinberg, Lyapunov: Marc-André Hamelin *** Wigmore Hall, 19th June 2016 One of music’s first “rock stars”, Franz Liszt created the piano recital: performing without a score, turning the piano sideways – so audiences could admire his profile – striding … Continue reading

Posted in Concert | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Lisztian tempests: Marc-André Hamelin at Wigmore Hall

Circle of Life: Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen returns to Glyndebourne

Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen **** Glyndebourne Festival Opera, 12th June 2016 Seventy years before Elton John’s “The Circle of Life” graced The Lion King, Leoš Janáček celebrated nature’s cycle in The Cunning Little Vixen. His inspiration was drawn from … Continue reading

Posted in Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Circle of Life: Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen returns to Glyndebourne