Classical and Opera Reviews | musicOMH

Reviews Index

Prom 28: National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain / Benjamin @ Royal Albert Hall, London

by Barry Creasy

Saturday evening’s Prom was essentially an exploration of orchestral texture, and the NYO – fielding, as ever, an impressive stageful of teenage musicians, including a…

L’incoronazione di Poppea @ Longborough Festival Opera, Longborough

L’incoronazione di Poppea is a rather odd creation, given that it does not present the same tale of morality as lies at the heart of...

Prom 22: BBC Scottish SO / Manze @ Royal Albert Hall, London

Pairing two ‘London’ symphonies (Haydn’s 104th and Vaughan Williams’ 2nd) seems like a neat programming idea in terms of theme. There’s also certainly a contrast...

Candide / Midday Music @ West Green House Opera, Hartley Wintney

Like its current production of Madama Butterfly, West Green House Opera’s Candide, which is presented in John Caird’s 1999 version for the National Theatre, is...

Ba-ta-clan / Madama Butterfly @ West Green House Opera, Hartley Wintney

One of the delights of West Green House Opera is that its programming allows audiences to enjoy more than one event on the same day...

Marvellous Party! @ West Green House Opera, Hartley Wintney

West Green House Opera is going places. Its long-term plan is to replace its annually constructed Green Theatre with a permanent opera house, and, with...

Proms at Cadogan Hall 3: Ancient Rituals and New Tales @ Cadogan Hall, London

There is some debate about the inclusion of Radio-6-Music-type events in the Proms programme, but they are a welcome opportunity to expand one’s musical horizons,...

Prom 17: BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Brabbins @ Royal Albert Hall, London

2018 is the last opportunity to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War, and on Friday night the National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales...

Breslik / Katz @ Wigmore Hall, London

Those who admired the Slovakian tenor Pavol Breslik’s Don Ottavio in the ROH Don Giovanni will have been delighted with this performance of Die schöne...

Prom 11: BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Søndergård @ Royal Albert Hall, London

In some respects, the Royal Albert Hall would seem to be the perfect home for Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in E flat major (1906-7), given...

L’Ange de Nisida @ Royal Opera House, London

Most operas that are rediscovered, having been thought lost, tend to come from the eighteenth century or earlier. There are exceptions to this rule, but...

Prom 7: Jacob Collier and Friends @ Royal Albert Hall, London

Jacob Collier was very very excited (as he repeatedly told us) to be offered his own Prom in the Royal Albert Hall. His puppy-dog enthusiasm...

Ariadne auf Naxos @ Opera Holland Park, London

If there is one thing that recent productions of Ariadne auf Naxos have taught us it is that, when there is so much in the...

Isabeau @ Opera Holland Park, London

One of the delights of Opera Holland Park is the opportunities it presents to hear rarely performed works from Italian composers whose own considerable talents...

Prom 6: BBC SO / Oramo @ Royal Albert Hall, London

It seems that this summer’s top nation is France – whether on the pitch or in the Proms Arena – and Wednesday night’s combination of...

Prom 1: BBC SO/Oramo @ Royal Albert Hall, London

The untimely death of Oliver Knussen last week was marked by an unannounced performance of his Flourish with Fireworks at the opening of the first...

Ariadne auf Naxos @ Longborough Festival Opera, Longborough

The Knight of the Burning Pestle broke the fourth wall, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg put musical convention and taste under the spotlight, and White Christmas...

Pushkin @ Grange Park Opera, West Horsley

Pushkin is such a revered figure in Russia that even the very idea of creating an opera about him was contentious. As librettist Marita Phillips...

Candide @ The Grange Festival, Alresford

With 2018 marking the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth, London is well served by performances of the composer’s works. In February The Jazz at Lincoln...

Un Ballo in Maschera @ Grange Park Opera, West Horsley

The king is dead! But does anybody care? Rulers are supposed to have what Shakespeare calls ‘The king-becoming graces,’ but Stephen Medcalf’s production of Verdi’s...