The Chinese-Australian pair of comedy fiddlers have called it quits, ending their social-media careers in the holiday lull. Here’s their Christmas-Day message: twosetviolin Dear Ling Ling Wannabes, This is a message we never thought we’d […]
I love Naxos’ pithy summary of the plot of Donizetti’s much-loved opera: Country boy Nemorino is determined to win the haughty Adina’s heart, but she refuses to give him the time of day. Can Doctor […]
To elevate a jester to a tragic stature comparable to a Macbeth or a Lear is no easy feat. The dramatic essence of Shakespeare runs in the veins of this Rigoletto, although the story is based on the controversial Le roi […]
Not sure at all about this upcoming Vienna premiere. Would you say it’s appropriate? In KaiserRequiem, Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis merges with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem to create a musico-dramatic dance evening. It […]
The revered violinist Haim Taub, concertmaster of the Israel Philharmonic for two decandes until 1988, died today at the age of 99. A student of Oedoen Partos at the Tel Aviv Academy and then of […]
A barely recognisable version of Puccini’s last opera opened in Seoul on Sunday after its director stormed out hours before the premiere and many rows of seats were removed after poor ticket sales. La Scala […]
The Syracuse Opera Company has filed for bankruptcy, following repeated cancellations over the past two seasons. The city (pop. 145,560) in upstate New York lost its symphony orchestra in 2011. Syracuse once hosted Gustav Mahler […]
The cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris has been much in the news recently thanks to its re-opening after the tragic fire. Although named as “Bach to Notre-Dame,” this disc – Notre-Dame organist Olivie Latry’s first […]
In The Bleak Midwinter – Wigmore Hall Why is this the world’s most popular Christmas carol? Its message (thanks to Christina Rosetti) is miserable and, what’s more, inaccurate. Assuming that Jesus was in fact born in […]
The magnificent German mezzo, later an imposing theatre and festival director, gives a rare interview to Zsolt Bognar. Now 85, Brigitte involves her successor as director, Josef Köpplinger, as an intermediary in the conversation. Brigitte […]
