Monthly Archives: November 2017

From lamentation to jubilation: Bernstein celebrated in style by Marin Alsop

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Bernstein: LSO/Alsop **** Barbican, 8th November 2017 In the second half of the 20th century, no conductor did more to establish Mahler at the core of the symphonic repertoire than Leonard Bernstein. It was fitting, therefore, that Marin Alsop – Bernstein’s protégé in … Continue reading →

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Tragedy undermined: Peter Brook’s La Tragédie de Carmen

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Bizet: La Tragédie de Carmen ** Royal Opera, Wilton’s Music Hall, 4th November 2017 The distressed walls of Wilton’s Music Hall, in London’s East End, are not dissimilar to the interior of Les Bouffes du Nord, the Parisian theatre where, … Continue reading →

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There’s still plenty of life in Bintley’s Penguin Café

Posted on November 4, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Birmingham Royal Ballet **** Sadler’s Wells, 3rd November 2017 It starts like a scene from Mary Poppins, with penguin waiters nimbly weaving between waltzing couples, but ends with a deft blow to the stomach to deliver its environmental message. David Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ … Continue reading →

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Esther Yoo’s affectionate Tchaikovsky the highlight of a disappointing evening with the Philharmonia

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Philharmonia/ Karl-Heinz Steffens ** Royal Festival Hall, 2nd November 2017 Eduard Hanslick had a sharp tongue and an even sharper pen. The critic savagely dismissed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto as “music that stinks”, while his verdict on a two-piano play-through of … Continue reading →

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Gold-plated Don Carlos cast compensates for Warlikowski’s frosty Paris staging

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: Don Carlos *** Opéra Bastille, 28th October 2017 Stéphane Lissner, director of the Opéra de Paris, had one of his greatest successes as general manager at the Théâtre du Châtelet with Luc Bondy’s staging of the original French version of … Continue reading →

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