Tag Archives: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Roll over Beethoven! Sir Roger Norrington parties like it’s 1985

Norrington/ Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Queen Elizabeth Hall, 28th January 2020 “Ta-daaaaaa!” There’s a wonderful publicity photograph of Sir Roger Norrington, holding his hands aloft as if a magician unveiling a new trick. The two fortissimo Ds punched … Continue reading

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Political power games in Kosky’s Agrippina at Covent Garden

Handel: Agrippina Royal Opera, 23rd September 2019 We were promised Agrippina as House of Cards, full of intrigue and political machinations, yet Barrie Kosky plays his joker frequently in a staging which borders on farce. On an austere set, he … Continue reading

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Jolly hockey sticks! Orliński rules as Rinaldo at Glyndebourne

Handel: Rinaldo Glyndebourne, 8th August 2019 Rotten Romans, the first film inspired by Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories books which have brought the past alive for decades of schoolchildren, opened in cinemas a fortnight ago. If they ever decide to tackle … Continue reading

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Spliced: Mozart, Magdalena and the OAE mix it up

Magdalena Kožená; The OAE/ Giovanni Antonini Royal Festival Hall, 4th February 2019 There was more than a touch of déjà vu at work this evening: the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment chopping up a classical symphony and splicing in … Continue reading

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Carry on Cleo: Joélle Harvey leads terrific revival of Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne

Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto **** Glyndebourne, 10th June 2018 It’s back. Sir David McVicar’s ridiculously entertaining romp through Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto returns to Glyndebourne. Unveiled at the 2005 festival, where it made a star of Danielle de Niese (then Cleopatra, now châtelaine), … Continue reading

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