Tag Archives: Colin Judson

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

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

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Mesmerising Akhnaten returns to ENO

Glass: Akhnaten English National Opera, 11th February 2019 For the uninitiated, it’s not exactly an evening pregnant with promise: an opera largely sung in Egyptian, Hebrew and Akkadian, without surtitles, its two hour score chugging through obsessive ostinatos of A … Continue reading

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Prom 29: Twilight of the Old Believers as Semyon Bychkov leads a majestic Khovanshchina

Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina **** Prom 29, Royal Albert Hall, 6th August 2017 At the end of Götterdämmerung, Brünnhilde rides her horse onto a pyre. Although his opera’s not quite as long, Mussorgsky trumps Wagner by sending a whole chorus to their immolation as Act … Continue reading

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Enchanted Wood: dream of a Dream at Glyndebourne

Britten: A Midsummer Night’s Dream ***** Glyndebourne, 11th August 2016 “Out of this wood do not desire to go!” Tytania orders Bottom. Glyndebourne’s revival of Peter Hall’s classic production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is eerily enchanting, weaving its spell right … Continue reading

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Circle of Life: Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen returns to Glyndebourne

Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen **** Glyndebourne Festival Opera, 12th June 2016 Seventy years before Elton John’s “The Circle of Life” graced The Lion King, Leoš Janáček celebrated nature’s cycle in The Cunning Little Vixen. His inspiration was drawn from … Continue reading

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