Reading Time: 3 minutesIn 1735, George Frideric Handel adapted a fanciful story from Ariosto’s Italian Renaissance epic, Orlando Furioso; the resulting opera, Alcina, is staged here by the Guildhall School in a playful and earnest exploration of a battle between true love and powerful enchantments.
Reading Time: 2 minutesLa Traviata (The Fallen Woman) is Verdi’s 1853 opera about Violetta, a beautiful courtesan, and Alfredo, her devoted admirer, who despite falling madly in love are pulled apart by family, circumstance and general tragedy, reuniting finally as Violetta succumbs to the consumption which shortens her tumultuous life.
Reading Time: 3 minutesStravinsky's The Rake’s Progress is not the typical story of a Rake; the plot was unexpectedly about a man, originally with low funds, in love, who learnt more and more about love throughout the opera.
Reading Time: 2 minutesI think I can comfortably assume that the English Touring Opera’s production of Manson Lescaut at the Oxford Playhouse is vastly different from its first performances in Turin, 1893. Director and librettist Jude Christian’s fascinating biography of recent work had me on tenterhooks for the main event, and her revival of this Puccini classic did not fail to excite the senses and turn the classical world on its head.
Reading Time: 3 minutesSIR DAVID MCVICAR’S PRODUCTION OF LA TRAVIATA BY VERDI TOURS TO GLASGOW, INVERNESS, ABERDEEN AND EDINBURGH THIS SUMMER
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe organ that stands within the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre is turning 70-years-old this year. The new Resident Artist James McVinnie rang in this illustrious occasion with two performances in a day, both of which offered an old and a new perspective on this important instrument.
Reading Time: 2 minutesOpera North's double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Aleko by Sergei Rachmaninoff is a captivating exploration of intertwined desires, dramatic contrasts, and thematic reflections. The juxtaposition of these two operas creates a rich tapestry of emotion and narrative, each enhancing the other's impact.
Reading Time: 2 minutesAn action-packed and unconventional day in the life of Karl Marx and his family proves to be a feast for the eyes and ears Marx in London! is set on one day in 1871 – the 14th…
Reading Time: 2 minutesAppearing were 2023/24 Associate Artist, mezzo-soprano, Lea Shaw, along with three of Scottish Opera’s Emerging Artists, the tenor, Shengzhi Ren, soprano, Inna Husieva and baritone, Ross Cumming. The touring production’s accompaniment was provided by their Music Director, James Longford on piano.
Reading Time: 4 minutesThis February, Simon McBurney’s much-loved and enchanting production of The Magic Flute returns to the English National Opera (ENO) for its third revival since its original premiere in the 2013/14 Season. This ‘life-enhancing, gloriously creative’ (The Spectator) production is staged at the London Coliseum in collaboration with pioneering theatre company Complicité.