The Marriage of Figaro, ENO Fiona Shaw’s production of The Marriage of Figaro didn’t fire on all cylinders when it premiered, and after its second revival there are still problems, some of ...Read More
Macbeth, Royal Opera House Michael Church After two of the most abysmal new productions I have ever seen – From the House of the Dead at Covent Garden, and La traviata at the Coliseum – a revival ...Read More
Coraline, Barbican From the composer of the viscerally-shocking Greek and the in-yer-face Anna Nicole, now comes a ‘family friendly’ opera: Coraline marks yet another twist in the creative progres...Read More
Evgeny Kissin, Barbican Now forty-seven, Evgeny Kissin is no longer music’s most miraculous child: he’s become a trim and stately middle-aged gent, and his pianism has matured commensurately. Itâ€...Read More
La traviata, Coliseum, London As nights at the opera go, this was a strange one. By the end of Act One I was eager to leave, and I felt pretty much the same about Act Two, but Act Three, which must co...Read More
Peter Donohoe/LPO/Orozco-Estrada, Southbank Centre The London Philharmonic are now embarked on a year-long musical journey through the twentieth century, using Stravinsky as their focus: works ...Read More
St John Passion, Jesus College, Cambridge The geographical spread of classical music in Britain is shockingly inequitable: 90 percent of the events take place in or around London. But two other...Read More
From the House of the Dead, Royal Opera House, 7.3.18 Dostoevsky’s novel From the House of the Dead was based on his searing experiences in a Siberian prison. Janacek’s opera faithfully fol...Read More
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ENO, 1.3.18 ENO had two fine house productions to choose between, for their revival of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They could have chosen Christopher A...Read More
Steven Isserlis/Alexander Melnikov, Wigmore Hall, 21.21.18 At first glance, Steven Isserlis and Alexander Melnikov might seem an odd couple – a mop-headed weirdo with a cello, and a priest-like pres...Read More