Reviews Index
by Melanie Eskenazi
“Only make the reader’s general vision of evil intense enough, and his own experience, his own imagination, his own sympathy and horror will supply him…
Why is Figaro measuring up to see if the bed will fit, when it’s already attached to the wall? What are sixteen servants doing apart...
Third time around for Melly Still’s beautiful, challenging production of Dvořák’s Rusalka, a non-sentimental reading of the fairy tale, with Nature “Red in tooth and...
Although Anton Rubinstein’s The Demon was popular on its premiere in St Petersburg in 1875, the greater surprise on hearing the piece is that it...
There are many ways to stage Così fan tutte and for a long time a lot of directors chose to set it in the modern...
After a deeply moving, finely sung Le nozze di Figaro and a gloriously staged, superbly cast Falstaff, this production of one of Handel’s finest oratorios...
If it is ambitious for a 500-seat opera house to attempt Der Ring des Nibelungen, it is only slightly less so for it to take...
The man that hath no music in himself Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils. (The...
Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon, developed by Fiona Dunn from Fiona Shaw’s 2018 Glyndebourne on Tour production, certainly places the notion of the...
Jo Davies’ production has successfully made the transition to the new house at West Horsley, although not all of the singing could be described as...
Offenbach’s Fantasio only lasted for ten performances on its premiere in Paris in 1872, although when one listens to the work it is difficult to...
A brief paragraph in the minimal programme for the Anstieg Symphony Orchestra’s concert on Friday described the connection between the two main works (Maxwell Davies’...
If 2018 brought great excitement as Nevill Holt Opera opened its new 400-seat opera house inside its historic stable block courtyard, and commenced orchestral partnerships...
Of John Dowland’s seven instrumental Lachrimae Pavans, only one was given words by the composer, when he subsequently re-set it as the lute-song Flow my...
A strong aesthetic, excellent conducting and outstanding principal performances combine to create a compelling production of Un ballo in maschera at Opera Holland Park. There...
“It’s say funneah!” Indeed it is, and the young lady who opined thus seemed to be a ‘first timer’ in terms of opera. Falstaff was...
‘Ah! tutti contenti,…’ the sublime closing chorus following the Countess’ tear-inducing forgiveness of her errant husband, can seldom have sounded more weighted with equivocation, but...
There have been several versions of Porgy and Bess, with London in recent years having enjoyed the Nunn adaptation of 2006 and Paulus adaptation of...
Josquin des Prez is generally regarded as the composer who, in the late 15th century, revolutionised polyphony. Although he still based many of his vocal...
Almost as long as people have been scratching their heads over which came first – the chicken or the egg, musicians have been tearing their...
The Sound of Colour is a cleverly constructed series of concerts presented by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Marrying two art forms by exploring music that...
