Tag Archives: Bizet

Carmen as therapy: Tcherniakov challenges clichés but is stumped in Aix

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Bizet: Carmen ** Grand Théâtre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 4th July 2017 Love may well be a rebellious bird, but that’s as nothing to maverick director Dmitri Tcherniakov. In his beloved Russian repertoire he displays genius – his recent Snow Maiden in Paris fully … Continue reading →

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Listen with Aurora: an exploration of childhood at Kings Place

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

L’Enfance: Aurora Orchestra/Collon **** Kings Place, 16th December 2016 “Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.” For all but the youngest sprogs in the audience, Fauré’s Berceuse instantly brings to mind Listen with Mother, the BBC radio programme that ran … Continue reading →

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Slow to ignite: tepid revival of Bizet’s Pearl Fishers at ENO

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de perles *** English National Opera, 19th October 2016 After Zurga torches his village so he can rescue the lovers Nadir and Leïla from their death sentences during the ensuing panic, billowing “smoke” filled the Coliseum stage so … Continue reading →

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Sultry, fiery, coquettish: Stéphanie d’Oustrac’s Carmen has it all

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Bizet: Carmen **** Glyndebourne, 23rd May 2015 “The very incarnation of vice” was how one critic described Célestine Galli-Marié’s Carmen at the opera’s 1875 Opéra Comique première. That description could equally be applied to Stéphanie d’Oustrac in Glyndebourne’s revival of … Continue reading →

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An atmosphere filled with dust and testosterone: Bieito’s Carmen returns to ENO

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Bizet: Carmen *** English National Opera, 20th May 2015 Calixto Bieito’s Carmen is far removed from sun-drenched, picture postcard Seville. A bull and flamenco dresses make appearances, but these are nothing but illusions: the giant Osborne sherry company bull that looms … Continue reading →

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