Tag Archives: Royal Opera

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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Seeing double: Kasper Holten’s Eugene Onegin returns to Covent Garden

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin **** The Royal Opera, 19th December 2015 The question I’d longed to ask Kasper Holten when his 2013 Royal Opera staging of Eugene Onegin opened was: if you’d had a younger soprano cast as Tatyana, would you … Continue reading

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Passion Plays: Michieletto’s interwoven Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci

Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana/ Leoncavallo: Pagliacci **** The Royal Opera, 3rd December 2015 Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci have been locked together in a fatal embrace since 1893 when they were first paired as a double bill. Dalliances with other partners followed … Continue reading

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Surveillance programme

Once you enter the opera house or concert hall, what’s the first thing you do? Collect your ticket from the box office? Deposit your coat into the cloakroom? I wouldn’t mind betting that you then dutifully queue to purchase a … Continue reading

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The One with Figaro’s Wedding: a deftly directed revival at Covent Garden

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro **** Royal Opera House, 15th September 2015 There are few operas more perfect than Le nozze di Figaro. David McVicar’s production, returning for a fifth time at the Royal Opera, updates the action to the … Continue reading

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