A Czech director brings Jenůfa to life in Geneva! The Grand Théâtre de Genève is currently showing Jenůfa, a tragic work that Janáček’s first operatic success, at the age of 50. We saw the new production at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in Autumn 2021 and were easily tempted to the first night […]
Don Pasquale – Royal Opera House Review
The revival of Damiano Michieletto’s Don Pasquale revels in its own fun: There’s nothing like a household tyrant to get the blood boiling and the plates of operatic deception spinning. For those needing some light relief from their own domestic drama, there is respite to be had in seeing an even worse one presented on stage. […]
Lohengrin at The Royal Opera House – A Dystopian Saga for our Times
A triumphant return of the swan epic to the Royal Opera House It’s astonishing how art can be recontextualised as the world changes around us. When director David Alden’s staged Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin in 2018, it attracted some critical flack for what were regarded as clichéd references to Nazism. The Royal Opera’s first new […]
The Handmaid’s Tale – English National Opera
Margaret Atwood’s Classic Novel Brought to Vivid Life at the ENO I remember reading Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale when it was published in 1985. It was one of those books that was instantly recognised as a modern classic, a piece of speculative fiction that posited the conceit that the President of the […]
La Traviata – Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Verdi’s adaptation of La Dame aux Camélias is a tear jerking success. Richard Eyre’s landmark production of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata for the Royal Opera House is a timeless production, now in its 28th season. The opening performance this time was a matinée with an 11.30 start, and we were there to share the excitement. […]
The Gondoliers – Review
Scottish Opera’s The Gondoliers shows at Hackney Empire for a limited run A new Scottish Opera production of The Gondoliers is showing briefly at London’s Hackney Empire following a successful run in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness in 2021. This co-production with D’Oyly Carte Opera and State Opera South Australia also includes the chance to catch […]
Glyndebourne Festival 2022 – listings
Channel your inner Bridgerton with Opera in Sussex at Glyndebourne While ‘The Season’ might not aim to marry off young ladies to suitable partners anymore, it is a quintessentially romantic part of London life. Think of any elegant and glamorous event in London and the South East and you may well find it’s part of […]
Deborah Warner’s triumphant new production of Peter Grimes debuts at the Royal Opera House
You wait ages for a bus, then three come along… With three new productions of Peter Grimes opening recently (at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna and this Royal Opera House co-production with the Teatro Real, Madrid, the Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma and L’Opéra National de Paris), Europe is having […]
Cosi Fan Tutte – English National Opera – 2022
This 2022 revival of Cosi Fan Tutte brings all the fun of the fair to the Coliseum The original Cosi Fan Tutte opera portrays the premise that there is no such thing as a faithful woman. Apparently, “All women are like that.” Cosi Fan Tutte is the final comic masterpiece from Mozart and his librettist, […]
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 […]