Monthly Archives: December 2016

Plums and turkeys: a musical voyage around 2016

Most people I know cannot wait to see the back of 2016. But in the year in which Brexit, Trump and the Grim Reaper were the big winners, I admit to having had a terrific twelve months. A whirl of … Continue reading

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Imperial grandeur: a sumptuous Sleeping Beauty at The Royal Ballet

Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty **** The Royal Ballet, 21st December 2016 Based on Tchaikovsky’s most symphonic ballet score, The Sleeping Beauty is less a fairy tale and more the apex of Russian imperial style. It has a very special place nestled … Continue reading

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London Mozart Players Chamber ensemble: from shimmering moonlight to Florentine sunshine

London Mozart Players Chamber Ensemble **** Conway Hall, 19th December 2016 Despite being nestled in London’s Red Lion Square, Conway Hall somehow captures the atmosphere of your old-fashioned village hall: a plain stage, rows of carefully arranged loose chairs, a … Continue reading

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Stop all the clocks: Renée Fleming’s valedictory Marschallin at the Royal Opera

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier **** The Royal Opera, 17th December 2016 Aware her teenage lover will inevitably leave her for a younger woman, the Marschallin muses that time trickles like sand through an hourglass, flowing ceaselessly. At night she stops all … Continue reading

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Listen with Aurora: an exploration of childhood at Kings Place

L’Enfance: Aurora Orchestra/Collon **** Kings Place, 16th December 2016 “Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.” For all but the youngest sprogs in the audience, Fauré’s Berceuse instantly brings to mind Listen with Mother, the BBC radio programme that ran … Continue reading

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