Ben Edge: Devil’s Den Shadwell Opera, artistic director Jack Furness, music director Finnegan Downie Dear, is presenting its first full-length commissioned opera on Saturday 15 June when the company performs Isabella Gellis‘ The Devil’s Den […]
Affectionately dedicated to his friend and mentor Ruth Nye, this brilliant, significant release from Emmanuel Despax reveals performances of the highest integrity. As Despax himself puts it: I never perceived Liszt’s compositions as mere showmanship; […]
Rossini: The Barber of Seville – Paul Grant – Opera Holland Park 2024 (Photo: Ali Wright) Rossini: The Barber of Seville; Paul Grant, Elgan Llŷr Thomas, Heather Lowe, Stephen Gadd, Jihoon Kim, Janis Kelly, director: […]
-DavidMonteith-Hodge-Photographisepleasecredit-Alcina2-(DMH_9148).jpg?w=510&resize=510,510&ssl=1 "A very modern sort of magic: Handel's Alcina at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama")
Handel: Alcina – Yolisa Ngwexana (Morgana) – Guildhall School (Photo: David Monteith-Hodge) Handel: Alcina; Georgie Malcolm, Yolisa Ngwexana, Samantha Hargreaves, Shana Moron-Caravel, Julia Merino, Jonah Halton, Alaric Green, director: John Ramster, conductor: James Henshaw; Guildhall […]
As Giuseppe Sinopoli’s DG recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden seems to no longer be universally available (although you can find, currently, a cheap copy at Amazon here), this new performance now takes centre stage. We […]
For his final concert program as New York Philharmonic Music Director, Jaap van Zweden led a sturdy, accurate and well-balanced reading of Mahler’s Symphony No.2, customarily referred to (though not by the composer) as the […]
Williams, Ortiz, Dvořák María Dueñas (violin); Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Gustavo Dudamel (conductor). Barbican Hall, 02.06.2024 John WIlliams Olympic Fanfare and Theme (1984) Gabriela Ortiz Altar de cuerda (LA Phil commission; UK premiere, 2021) Dvořák Symphony No. […]
Wagner: Götterdämmerung – Lee Bisset as Brünnhilde – Longborough Festival Opera, 2024 (Photo: Matthew Williams-Ellis) Thankfully, Longborough Festival Opera’s 2025 season continues under the guidance of their esteemed and long-standing music director, Anthony Negus, who, […]
Edward Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius; Nicky Spence, Andrew Foster-Williams, Anna Stéphany , Gabrieli Consort, Gabrieli Roar, Polish National Youth Choir, Gabrieli Players; Winged LionReviewed 3 June 2024 A profoundly satisfying and highly intelligent account, […]
Messiaen Vingt régards de l’enfant Jésus (1944) Nicolas Hodges (piano). Wigmore Hall, 31.05.2024 The last time I heard Messiaen’s vast Jesus-oriented canvas was at Milton Court in 2016 (review), Pierre-Laurent Aimard was the pianist, a […]
