Tag Archives: David Kempster

Cav & Pag: a nostalgia trip for Welsh National Opera

Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana; Leoncavallo: Pagliacci **** Welsh National Opera, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 29th May 2016 Welsh National Opera may have reached the ripe old age of seventy but it’s very much alive and kicking. It celebrates this milestone Janus-like, looking … Continue reading

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Les Martyrs: Revelatory Donizetti on disc from Opera Rara

Donizetti: Les Martyrs  When Donizetti’s rarity Poliuto opened the 2015 Glyndebourne Festival a week ago, the music would already have been familiar to a number of audience members. Only last autumn, those operatic archaeologists Opera Rara had put on a … Continue reading

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Crushed: Exquisite Madam Butterfly suffers in the RAH

Puccini: Madam Butterfly *** Royal Albert Hall, 26th February 2015 Take an exquisite production of a Puccini tearjerker, cast it attractively… then crush its fragile wings under the weight of the Albert Hall’s vastness. Madama Butterfly is a perfect opera … Continue reading

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Opera Rara: Donizetti’s Les Martyrs a revelation

Donizetti: Les Martyrs ***** Opera Rara, Royal Festival Hall, 4th November 2014 There is no shortage of rare Donizetti operas set in exotic locations – Emilia di Liverpool, Zoroaida di Granata, Harrison di Accrington (okay, artistic license exercised on that final one) – so … Continue reading

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Round Britten: the operas on disc

Last week, I finally got my hands on the new 50 pence piece the Royal Mint issued to commemorate Britten’s centenary, inscribed with lyrics from his ‘Serenade for tenor, horn and strings’. It’s appearance in my sticky paws is nearly … Continue reading

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