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Tine Thing Helseth(Photo: Colin Bell)

Helseth/Stott @ Wigmore Hall, London

by Jack Smith

Tine Thing Helseth introduced her programme notes by recounting the first time she and Kathryn Stott played together: “We had barely spoken two words to…


Nabucco @ Royal Opera House, London

by Sam Smith
Daniele Abbado’s new production of Verdi’s third opera, first shown at La Scala in February, does not shy away from trying to make sense of...
Nabucco @ Royal Opera House, London

LSO/Gergiev @ Barbican Hall, London

by John-Pierre Joyce
The London Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor Valery Gergiev rounded off their exploration of the music of Szymanowski and Brahms with magisterial performances of their...
LSO/Gergiev @ Barbican Hall, London

Literary Britten @ Wigmore Hall, London

by Melanie Eskenazi
Commemorations of Britten’s centenary are taking many forms, and this one was not only different but surely one which would have especially appealed to the...
Literary Britten @ Wigmore Hall, London

BBC SO/Vedernikov @ Barbican Hall, London

by Christian Hoskins
In parallel with the centenary celebrations of Benjamin Britten’s birth this year, the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s current season includes a number of works by Britten’s...
BBC SO/Vedernikov @ Barbican Hall, London

Nash Ensemble @ Wigmore Hall, London

by John-Pierre Joyce
There was an uneven quality to this concert of music by Britten and Walton – part of the Nash Ensemble’s ‘Dreamers of Dreams’ series of...
Nash Ensemble @ Wigmore Hall, London

Chelsea Opera Group/Wheeler @ Queen Elizabeth H...

by Sam Smith
Die Feen of 1833, written when Wagner was only twenty, is the composer’s first completed opera. Never performed in his lifetime, it has remained something...
Chelsea Opera Group/Wheeler @ Queen Elizabeth H...

St John Passion @ Kings Place, London

by Melanie Eskenazi
It’s a very long journey to make in just one week, from the world premiere of Imago at Glyndebourne to a performance of Bach’s most...
St John Passion @ Kings Place, London

LA Philharmonic/Dudamel @ Barbican Hall, London

by Sam Smith
If George Benjamin’s new opera Written on Skin, currently appearing at the Royal Opera House, might represent the pared down English face of ‘minimalism’, John...
LA Philharmonic/Dudamel @ Barbican Hall, London

Belcea Quartet/Thomas Quasthoff @ Wigmore Hall,...

by Melanie Eskenazi
Innovative as ever, the Belcea Quartet and the Wigmore Hall brought us a profoundly moving, deeply serious evening of late works, united by their complexity,...
Belcea Quartet/Thomas Quasthoff @ Wigmore Hall,...

Imago @ Glyndebourne, Lewes

by Melanie Eskenazi
Intent as ever on dispelling the myth that it is ‘exclusive,’ Glyndebourne has premièred a daring, involving and spectacularly produced new opera in Imago. Composed...
Imago @ Glyndebourne, Lewes

Phaëton/Les Talens Lyriques @ Barbican Hall, L...

by John-Pierre Joyce
French Baroque opera is at last making serious inroads into the UK’s musical landscape. While Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Medea is still playing to appreciative audiences at...
Phaëton/Les Talens Lyriques @ Barbican Hall, L...

Written On Skin @ Royal Opera House, London

by Sam Smith
George Benjamin’s new creation, now enjoying its Royal Opera premiere, certainly provides food for thought. It sees angels, who appear in a laboratory like setting,...
Written On Skin @ Royal Opera House, London

London Sinfonietta @ Purcell Room, London

by Steven Johnson
When the first half of the South Bank Centre’s year-long The Rest Is Noise festival was announced it brought mild accusations of conservatism from certain...
London Sinfonietta @ Purcell Room, London

The Barber of Seville @ Coliseum, London

by Melanie Eskenazi
“Opera was opera, and men were sopranos.” Dr Bartolo’s quip still elicits guffaws, but when this veteran production was new, those guffaws were not the...
The Barber of Seville @ Coliseum, London

LPO/Agrest @ Royal Festival Hall, London

by John-Pierre Joyce
It’s anyone’s guess as to how the London Philharmonic’s principal guest conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin would have handled this programme of works by Ravel, Prokofiev and...
LPO/Agrest @ Royal Festival Hall, London

Medea @ Coliseum, London

by John-Pierre Joyce
English National Opera deserves a big round of applause for dipping its feet into the comparatively uncharted waters of French Baroque opera. It tested the...
Medea @ Coliseum, London