Gilbert & Sullivan flourish at the Coliseum This is the ENO’s first production of The Yeoman of the Guard and it is brilliant that the ENO is able to take on more of the Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire as the home of British Opera. Yeoman is thought to be the opera duo’s finest musical work […]
Tosca at the English National Opera
The Diva Gets Her Revenge in St Martin’s Lane How does opera regenerate itself and attract a younger and more diverse audience? The ENO seems to be making something of a success of this with over 12,000 people signed up to their Under 35s scheme of discounts which includes completely free entry for under 21s. […]
The Cunning Little Vixen, English National Opera – Review
A New Production of The Cunning Little Vixen Storm Eunice put pay to the planned opening of a new production of The Cunning Little Vixen on Friday. Hotly anticipated, this first main stage production for ENO by Jamie Manton moved to Sunday and I was genuinely excited to go along. With sets and costumes by […]
Nabucco – Royal Opera House – Review
Daniele Abbado’s incandescent production of Nabucco lights up the Garden *Stop Press – Remaining performances for 2021 are cancelled* Nabucco was Verdi’s first great success as an opera composer. First produced at La Scala, Milan in 1842 under the title “Nabucodonosor” (Nebuchadnezzar in the anglicised form) it ended a torrid period in the composer’s life […]
Macbeth – Verdi – Royal Opera House – Review
Verdi takes Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the Opera. The fabulous opening of Macbeth tonight at the Royal Opera House is a revival of the production by Phyllida Lloyd, first staged in 2002 and performed there most recently in 2018. It’s a striking show, one that has both an immediate impact and is pervasive, if not entirely […]
Madam Butterfly – English National Opera – Review
Anthony Minghella’s Madam Butterfly What happens when you get an Oscar-winning film director to stage an opera? In the case of Madam Butterfly, directed by Anthony Minghella, first staged by ENO at the Coliseum in 2005, something extraordinary and beautiful. It’s a production that not only provides a new insight into the opera but also […]
Benjamin Britten’s ‘Death in Venice’ at The Royal Opera – Review
David McVicar’s Triumphant ‘Death in Venice’ at The Royal Opera. Director David McVicar’s take on Britten’s Death in Venice has just opened at the Royal Opera House; it’s the first of two Britten operas performed in the 2019/20 Season as part of The Royal Opera’s ongoing Britten cycle. The story follows widowed writer Gustav von Aschenbach’s descent […]
Don Pasquale at the Royal Opera House – Review
19th Century Catfishing with a Contemporary Twist. It’s a timeless tale – a rich older single man is seduced by a young woman with her sights firmly focussed on his wallet. This story has a twist though and that, together with stunning and at times provocative staging, makes the Royal Opera House’s new production of […]