Tag Archives: Vicki Mortimer

Great Britten: Death in Venice returns to Covent Garden in superb new staging

Britten: Death in Venice Royal Opera, 21st November 2019 “Britten doesn’t sell.” Until Deborah Warner’s impressive production of Billy Budd last April, The Royal Opera hadn’t put any Britten on the main stage since Richard Jones’ (admittedly naff) Gloriana in … Continue reading

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Getting to the heart of Don Alfonso: Così fan tutte revived for Glyndebourne Tour

Mozart: Così fan tutte **** Glyndebourne, 13th October 2017 I often wonder what happened to Don Alfonso to make him so cynical. In a recent programme note, conductor Philippe Jordan expounds his theory that, in the three Mozart/Da Ponte operas, … Continue reading

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Humour and humanity: McVicar’s Meistersinger touches the heart at Glyndebourne

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg **** Glyndebourne Festival, 21st May 2016 Eurovision last weekend, Nuremberg’s Got Talent this evening – it’s evidently song contest season. And what finer work to launch Glyndebourne Festival’s season, under the watchful eye of new General … Continue reading

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Return to the crime scene: fresh blood improves Royal Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor **** Royal Opera, 11th May 2016 Double casts are a mixed blessing. When they play side by side, there’s a temptation to indulge in ‘fantasy casting’, mixing and matching your ideal team from those available. But … Continue reading

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Flawed and floored: Katie Mitchell delivers a powerful Lucia at Covent Garden

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor *** The Royal Opera, 7th April 2016 The warning signs were there. Patrons had received the email warning of graphic scenes of sex and violence. Katie Mitchell herself said at a Friends’ Insight evening that “I … Continue reading

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