by Web Editor | Oct 18, 2017 | Music
Hard Going Tom Sutcliffe The first production by Stefan Herheim that I saw (and liked) was his Giulio Cesare in Oslo before the extravagant new opera house was built there. Herheim is Norwegian but his successful career as a director has been mainly in Germany, and he... 
by Web Editor | Oct 12, 2017 | Music
Excruciating Aida Tom Sutcliffe It is unclear, after the upheavals in the management and artistic direction of English National Opera, precisely who was responsible for engaging Phelim McDermott and his aptly-named theatre company Improbable to stage ENO’s new Aida.... 
by Music Editor | Oct 11, 2017 | Music
Russian to destruction! by Lucien Jenkins After opening with some lovely woodwind playing, Musorgsky’s libretto (all his own work) sets up three groups in a 17th-century power struggle. Perhaps to help the audience navigate the politics, the costume design... 
by Web Editor | Oct 3, 2017 | Music
Northward Ho Amanda Holloway The 28 September opening concert of the Philharmonia’s new season at the Royal Festival Hall also celebrated Nordic Music Days, one of the rare occasions this annual festival has been held outside a Nordic country. The programme visited... 