Monthly Archives: August 2017

Tolstoy speed read: Ratmansky’s Anna Karenina with the Mariinsky Ballet

Shchedrin: Anna Karenina *** Mariinsky Ballet, Royal Opera House, 3rd August 2017 How does one condense a Tolstoy epic for the stage? Prokofiev squeezed War and Peace down to a four hour opera, although it still contains some 70 named characters in … Continue reading

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Tears before bedtime: El-Khoury transcends Cairns’ chilly Glyndebourne Traviata

Verdi: La traviata **** Glyndebourne, 1st August 2017 Glyndebourne’s production of operatic weepy La traviata left me dry-eyed when I saw it on tour back in 2014. I found the abstract setting cold and austere, the performances bland. Thankfully, I employed a caveat … Continue reading

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