Tag Archives: Britten

Breaching the fortress: Budapest Festival Orchestra plays away in Ravenna

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Mark Pullinger

Iván Fischer/ Budapest Festival Orchestra Rocca Brancaleone, Ravenna, 1st July 2020 The Budapest Festival Orchestra has had a busier lockdown than most. Every member has taken part in its “Quarantine soirées”, streamed chamber recitals often introduced by Iván Fischer himself, occasionally … Continue reading →

Posted in Concert | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Britten: Death in Venice returns to Covent Garden in superb new staging

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Mark Pullinger

Britten: Death in Venice Royal Opera, 21st November 2019 “Britten doesn’t sell.” Until Deborah Warner’s impressive production of Billy Budd last April, The Royal Opera hadn’t put any Britten on the main stage since Richard Jones’ (admittedly naff) Gloriana in … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Staring into the abyss: a devastating Pathétique opens the LPO’s season

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Mark Pullinger

Jurowski/ London Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Festival Hall, 27th September 2019 From the string sighs of “Désir”, the first of Oliver Knussen’s Scriabin Settings, to the hollow rasp of the double basses’ dying growls in the Pathétique, this was a concert … Continue reading →

Posted in Concert | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anglo-Russian repertoire as the Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra closes its first tour

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Mark Pullinger

Latham-Koenig/ Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra Cadogan Hall, 25th September 2019 Although political relations between Britain and Russia can still be chilly, The Cold War is long past. Even during that deepest frost, musicians reached out across the divide. One of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Concert | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Goosebumps at Garsington: an outstanding, shadowy Turn of the Screw

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Mark Pullinger

Britten: The Turn of the Screw Garsington Opera, 1st July 2019 How do you tell a ghost story in broad daylight? That’s the challenge that faced Louisa Muller directing Britten’s operatic chiller The Turn of the Screw for Garsington. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment