Opera
Acis and Galatea review – a hectic take on Handel’s perfectly formed confection
The pared down City of London Sinfonia are exquisite and the main singers splendid – although the overworked ensemble hop around, draining the work of sincerity
Clive Paget
21, Jul, 2024 @11:26 AM
The week in classical: Il segreto di Susanna/Pagliacci; Spring Snow; Giorgi Gigashvili – review
A double bill of jealous minds moves from visceral tragedy to the joyfully comic, while Schubert and kabuki find surprising parallels
Stephen Pritchard
20, Jul, 2024 @12:00 PM
Il Segreto di Susanna/Pagliacci review – a double whammy of sexual jealousy
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s barbed 1909 comedy Il Segreto di Susanna feels like a Noël Coward play set to music, while Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is a powerful story of a woman’s murder by an abusive partner
Tim Ashley
18, Jul, 2024 @10:42 AM
Sonata for Broken Fingers review – chamber opera of Stalin’s terror fails to grip
Joe Cutler’s new work – premiered here by BCMG – is an awkward mix of fact and fantasy that adds up to less than the sum of its parts
Andrew Clements
15, Jul, 2024 @12:06 PM
The week in classical: Double Bryn Terfel; Siwan Rhys; Bozzini Quartet; My Beloved Man – review
A highlight of this summer’s country house opera season shows how these tireless and inventive festivals are vital to the UK’s classical music scene.
Fiona Maddocks
13, Jul, 2024 @12:00 PM
New Year review – Blake’s 7, redemption and rap as Birmingham Opera Company turn to Tippett
This staging of Michael Tippett’s complex opera, whose story of impoverished 80s Britain takes in sci-fi, street slang and electric guitar, is a remarkable feat.
Clive Paget
08, Jul, 2024 @12:10 PM
Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno review – imaginative staging transforms Handel’s oratorio
Its sermonising libretto was never meant to be this much fun, but in Jacopo Spirei’s characterful production, with Christian Curnyn conducting, Hilary Cronin’s delightfully truculent Pleasure emerges as the moral heart of the piece
Sarah Noble
08, Jul, 2024 @10:54 AM
Ernani review – sterling singing triumphs over Verdi’s implausible plot
Shifted from 16th-century Spain to a present-day oligarchy by director Jamie Manton, the titular aristocrat turned bandit is hell bent on love and revenge
Sarah Noble
07, Jul, 2024 @2:25 PM
Black- and Asian-led take on Wagner in Midlands aims to open up opera access
Artistic director of Birmingham production of The Flying Dutchman says he hopes to inspire more people to get involved
Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent
07, Jul, 2024 @1:41 PM
The week in classical: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Pekka Kuusisto & Norwegian Chamber Orchestra: DSCH; Camerata RCO – review
A top cast and young local chorus share the honours in Netia Jones’s stylish new Britten staging; Finnish live-wire Pekka Kuusisto and friends conjure Shostakovich in the dark. Plus, Bruckner’s 6th for 10 players…
Fiona Maddocks
06, Jul, 2024 @12:00 PM
Janáček: The Excursions of Mr Brouček album review – eccentric opera has sparkle and muscle
Jaroslav Březina is characterful in the title role for this new studio recording, heading an excellent cast and orchestra who know this music inside out
Erica Jeal
04, Jul, 2024 @3:00 PM
James Loughran obituary
Conductor who won the inaugural Philharmonia competition and recorded Brahms with the Hallé and Beethoven with the London Symphony Orchestra
Barry Millington
04, Jul, 2024 @2:46 PM
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