Verdi: Simon Boccanegra ****
Royal Opera, 15th November 2018
The air in London is rife with conspiracy, recrimination and infighting. But away from Westminster, political machinations and a baying mob are also at the heart of Simon Boccanegra, returning to the Royal Opera for the first time since 2013. The plot concerning the pirate-turned-politician can be a tangled one to decipher, especially with its 25-year gap between Prologue and Act 1, but Elijah Moshinsky’s handsome staging plays it straight – sometimes to the point of inertia – making the action easier to follow. Moshinsky has returned to direct this revival, which features two outstanding central performances.
The Council Chamber
© ROH | Clive Barda
Read the full review on Bachtrack.