The three-string shamisen lute is a brashly assertive instrument, but Japanese composers and performers are now exploring its hitherto unsuspected sonic potential. Honjoh Hidejiro, the leader in this ...Read More
Boris Godunov, Royal Opera House When the curtain rises on Boris Godunov, the gaudily-painted spinning-top which adorns it turns out to be a giant version of the toy with which a small boy in a white...Read More
Andrea Chenier, Royal Opera House In making the title role of Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chénier the vehicle for his hundredth Covent Garden appearance, Roberto Alagna has made a wise choice. As a ...Read More
Faust, Royal Opera House, London Some operas have to be taken in the spirit of the times out of which they sprang, and this applies particularly to Gounod’s Faust. Nobody today could accept its ca...Read More
La forza del destino, Royal Opera House It’s always news when Anna Netrebko or Jonas Kaufmann grace the stage, and doubly so when they appear together: breath is bated not only over whether these s...Read More
Katya Kabanova, Royal Opera House It never rains but it pours: three productions of Janacek’s Katya Kabanova running in the same week – excellent ones from Scottish Opera and Welsh National O...Read More
The Queen of Spades, Royal Opera House, London When is a libretto not a libretto? When it falls into the hands of Stefan Herheim. For this Norwegian director, an opera is something out of which he ma...Read More
Hansel und Gretel, Royal Opera House The popularity of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel goes up and down like a yo-yo. After its premiere – conducted by Richard Strauss, who admired ...Read More
Don Giovanni, Royal Opera House, London Some revivals save shows, others only serve to highlight their inherent weaknesses. Richard Jones’s replacement for John Copley’s much-loved Covent Garden B...Read More