Tag Archives: Rossini

From Auber to Halévy: El-Khoury and Spyres celebrate a pair of French stars in style

Opera Rara: Joyce El-Khoury & Michael Spyres **** Cadogan Hall, 14th July 2017 Opera Rara celebrated Bastille Day with a tribute to two great French singers, Julie Dorus-Gras and Gilbert Duprez. Dorus-Gras was a leading soprano in Paris in the … Continue reading

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There’s no place like Rome: Pappano and the Santa Cecilians dazzle in Respighi

Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Respighi: Wang; Santa Cecilia/Pappano **** Royal Festival Hall, 11th May 2017 All roads lead to Rome. Last night however, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia brought the Eternal City vividly to London in the form of two of … Continue reading

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Rossini’s Thieving Magpie doesn’t quite take flight at La Scala

Rossini: La gazza ladra *** Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 12th April 2017 Everyone knows the overture to La gazza ladra. It’s the one that begins with a pair of snare drums snarling across opposite sides of the orchestra which then … Continue reading

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Plums and turkeys: a musical voyage around 2016

Most people I know cannot wait to see the back of 2016. But in the year in which Brexit, Trump and the Grim Reaper were the big winners, I admit to having had a terrific twelve months. A whirl of … Continue reading

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Musical statues: Impressive singing in Ronconi’s static Semiramide in Florence

Rossini: Semiramide *** Opera di Firenze, Florence, 29th September 2016 The production photos look good. Italian director Luca Ronconi, who died last year, had an eye for a striking image. His 2011 production of Rossini’s Semiramide at Naples’ Teatro San Carlo, staged … Continue reading

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