Tag Archives: Hubert Francis

“Ecco un artista!”: melodrama aplenty in ROH Tosca revival

Puccini: Tosca Royal Opera, 27th May 2019 “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.” Like Norma Desmond, Tosca is no shrinking violet. Forget small screen acting. It’s an opera that requires big performances, singers able to depict larger-than-life … Continue reading

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Firing blanks: a disappointing Tosca at Covent Garden

Puccini: Tosca ** The Royal Opera, 11th January 2016 Nothing sweeps away the Christmas excess of multiple Nutcrackers like the biting chords denoting the villainous Baron Scarpia at the start of Tosca. I have a sneaking fondness for Puccini’s ‘shabby … Continue reading

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Boris crowned Tsar again in London: The Philharmonia’s Mighty Handful collection

Mussorgsky, Borodin, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov: Philharmonia/Hrůša *** Royal Festival Hall, 30th April 2015 Boris is all the rage in London this season. Elected to supreme power, he is haunted by a dodgy past and eventually crumbles. No, not Boris Johnson (Bachtrack … Continue reading

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