Otello, Royal Opera House While English National Opera, under its current leadership, produces nothing but flops, the Royal Opera remains splendidly on track. Hot on the heels of David McVicar’s s...Read More
Die Zauberflöte, Royal Opera House, London While ENO produces one turkey after another, Covent Garden continues to fly the flag. It has just brought back David McVicar’s production of Die Zauberfl...Read More
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