A Sparkling Figaro from de Niese Last night saw Wild Arts bringing their new pared-back production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro to Opera Holland Park. For gossips like me, there was an extra frisson of excitement because the production, which fizzes with energy and good humour, was also the directorial debut of star soprano Danielle […]
Abigail’s Party
It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To Last night saw the opening of Abigail’s Party, Mike Leigh’s classic 1970s play, also adapted for TV, that made a star out of the wonderful Alison Steadman in the role of monstrous suburban wife Beverly. This 2024 Stratford East production has returned to London after […]
Brindisa Tapas
Traditional Tapas at Brindisa Spanish food and, in particular, Tapas culture is now firmly embedded in British food culture. If I had a pound for every time a waiter asked to tell me about their “small plate sharing concept”, I’d have more money than I do now. But back in 1988 when Monika Linton started […]
London Opera Season 2026-27 – Previews
An Exciting Line-Up of Operas for the Autumn The London Opera Season for 2026–27 is framed by the chill wind of cuts at the Royal Opera House, with the loss of 64 jobs. On the back of the Arts Council cuts to Glyndebourne’s touring funding and Welsh National Opera, as well as the reshaping of […]
Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Glyndebourne
Escape to the Country With the hideous realities of people trafficking for sexual exploitation regularly in the news, it’s an apposite moment for a sparky revival of David McVicar’s 2015 production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The work is a landmark “singspiel” from 1782, a German form of opera promoted by Holy Roman […]
I Puritani – Royal Opera House
Oropesa is Transcendent as Elvira at Covent Garden It’s been 35 years since The Royal Opera last staged Vincenzo Bellini’s three-act I Puritani, a key work in the bel canto canon, so last night’s opening of Richard Jones’ new production was a big moment in the Royal Opera’s season. One of the key reasons for […]
Tern by Johnny Stanford
Progressive and Sustainable British Gastronomy in Worthing Situated on the South coast between Brighton and Chichester, Worthing has a reputation as being an old-fashioned, conservative and dare I say it, stuffy destination. But as with other South Coast towns, things are changing with a younger, artier crowd moving in, refugees from the soaring property prices […]
L’Orfeo at Glyndebourne
The Devil Has The Best Tunes You might think that Orfeo’s visit to the underworld was a bad trip, but the appearance of sinkholes next to a Purley railway bridge made yesterday’s journey to Glyndebourne from London similarly hellish, with train cancellations and quite a few ticketholders having to cancel. However, the transport-induced shenanigans didn’t […]
Witness for the Prosecution Gala Night
Champagne and Murder at County Hall Agatha Christie’s play Witness for the Prosecution is now in its 9th year at the atmospheric octagonal Edwardian Baroque ex-council chamber of County Hall, the iconic behemoth of a building on Westminster Bridge that used to house both the London County Council and its successor, the Greater London Council. […]
Tosca at Glyndebourne
The First Cut is the Deepest We are a bit late to the party in reviewing American director Ted Huffman’s new production of Tosca at Glyndebourne. I only managed to get to see the fourth performance of the opera house’s first production of Puccini’s “shabby little shocker”, as described by critic Joseph Kerman in 1952. […]