Monthly Archives: May 2017

Giant haystacks: Pelly’s sunny L’elisir d’amore romps back to Covent Garden

Donizetti: L’elisir d’amore **** The Royal Opera, 27th May 2017 This was meant to be Pretty Yende’s night. The South African soprano, praised for her bel canto feats at houses like The Met and Paris, was making her much-anticipated Royal … Continue reading

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A not so brief encounter with the Moscow Philharmonic

Yuri Simonov/Moscow Philharmonic **** The Anvil, Basingstoke, 23rd May 2017 What a difference a week makes. After last Thursday’s Pictures at an Exhibition where the Orchestre de Paris coated a pristine layer of French polish over Mussorgsky’s score, the Moscow … Continue reading

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Return to the harem: Marianne Crebassa seduces in Ravel’s Shéhérazade in Paris

Aladdin: Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Sokhiev ***** Philharmonie, Paris, 20th May 2017 With barely time for coffee and baklava after the Orchestre Pasdeloup’s Arabian matinee, I stepped boldly back into the harem. Scheherazade resumed her tales in the Philharmonie’s Mille … Continue reading

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Nights in the Harem: Scheherazade spins her tales with the Orchestre Pasdeloup

Chatoiement Oriental: Orchestre Pasdeloup/Diakun *** Philharmonie, Paris, 20th May 2017 Scheherazade had to spin her tales out for 1001 nights to earn a stay of execution from the Sultan Shahryar’s wicked decree that each new wife shall be killed the … Continue reading

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Autumnal Strauss, then a bracing mountain trek with the Staatskapelle Dresden in Paris

Strauss: Staatskapelle Dresden/Thielemann **** Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 19th May 2017 The steepest climb in Paris is probably the walk up to Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre – or at least it feels like it to my knees. Strauss’ Alpine Symphony is a … Continue reading

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