Lucia di Lammermoor at ROH: A stunning soprano in an absorbing opera opera This revival of Lucia di Lammermoor is an almost perfectly pitched production. A stunning lead soprano in an absorbing retelling of a classic
The Magic Flute at the ENO: a breathtaking theatrical delight opera The Magic Flute at the ENO never quite allows you to recover a stable heart rate. It remains a breathtaking theatrical delight.
The Barber of Seville ENO Review: An enduring delight opera review The Barber of Seville has a timeless magic: this is the production’s fourteenth revival, yet it still sparkles.
The Handmaid’s Tale opera review: Sensational February 8, 2024 You will probably be familiar with Margaret Atwood’s seminal novel The Handmaid’s Tale. If you are not, this landmark of feminist literature follows the story of Offred, a Handmaiden, a woman forced by the Republic of Gilead to serve a prestigious family as a living, breathing incubator. It is a story that has inspired an [...]
Elektra at ROH review: A sharp, star studded hit January 16, 2024 Much like Elektra herself, this production ends in a parade of glorious but bittersweet triumph.
Jephtha at the Royal Opera House asks the big questions in style November 16, 2023 This Jephtha celebrates complexity. Somewhere between complete debauchery and enforced purity there is real love, real pain, and real humanity.
Italy: Why Lucca in Tuscany is the cultural holiday you need to book October 16, 2023 Tuscany has a steeped musical history of birthing some of the world's most famous composers. It is also one of the most beautiful parts of Italy to visit.
Peter Grimes at ENO Review: A showcase of extraordinary talent October 10, 2023 It has been almost eighty years since Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes was first staged in London. Musically enthralling and dramatically astounding, it is no wonder that Grimes has stood the test of time, nonetheless this English National Opera revival of director David Alden’s 2009 production feels particularly pertinent in an increasingly polarised Britain. Based [...]
Das Rheingold at the Royal Opera House is enthralling October 9, 2023 As the first opera in Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, new productions of Das Rheingold attract intense scrutiny. Establishing the visual language for one production is hard enough, but setting the tone for three more operas is no mean feat. Director Barrie Kosky knows this, because this production marks his second stab at directing the epic [...]
Picture A Day Like This at ROH review: Beautiful ad memorable October 6, 2023 What does it mean to look for a miracle? Hope, as a uniquely human impulse, is the focus of composer George Benjamin and writer Martin Crimp’s latest operatic endeavour, Picture a day like this. This eagerly anticipated fourth collaboration between Benjamin and Crimp marks a departure from their grander operatic triumphs. Picture a day like [...]
