Tag Archives: Barry Banks

A feast of Rossini as Albina Shagimuratova dazzles in Semiramide

Rossini: Semiramide **** Opera Rara, Royal Albert Hall, 4th September 2016 Complete performances of Semiramide are as rare as hen’s teeth. Even at La Fenice – where the opera was given 28 times following its 1823 première, sometimes four nights in … Continue reading

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Sumptuously designed, but is this Rigoletto a ‘keeper’?

Verdi: Rigoletto *** English National Opera, 13th February 2014 The final revival in 2009 of Jonathan Miller’s Little Italy mafioso production of Rigoletto, a classic at English National Opera since it opened in 1982, was my first Opera Britannia review. … Continue reading

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