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Olivia Bell

Olivia has recently graduated as Senior choral Scholar from Queens' College, Cambridge, where she read English and became Culture Editor at the Tab. A freelance soprano, she currently works as a content editor at the Telegraph.

Author:Olivia Bell

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Showing 18 of 18 articles

London

A mortal nothingness: Verdi's Requiem at Westminster Cathedral

By Olivia Bell, 18 September 2018

This concert was inevitably the sum of far more than its parts, and not for nothing are the Monteverdi Choir and the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantiquem, regarded as among the best in the world

London

18 Sep 2018

A mortal nothingness: Verdi's Requiem at Westminster Cathedral

By Olivia Bell

London

Ax/Kavakos/Ma: An all-star afternoon of Brahms at the Barbican

By Olivia Bell, 09 September 2018

All three of these musicians are virtuosic soloists in their own right, but here they became far more than the sum of their parts – graceful, poised, and sensitive.

*****

London

09 Sep 2018

Ax/Kavakos/Ma: An all-star afternoon of Brahms

By Olivia Bell

London

Prom 6: Love laid bare in a passionate Turangalîla from Oramo and the BBCSO

By Olivia Bell, 18 July 2018

Revelling in the luscious orchestrations and sumptuous melodies, it was a rare treat to bask in such obvious delight from both conductor and orchestra.

*****

London

18 Jul 2018

Prom 6: Love laid bare in a passionate Turangalîla

By Olivia Bell

London

Prom 3: An inflated Prom to celebrate BBC Young Musicians

By Olivia Bell, 15 July 2018

With a smaller programme and a humbler premise, the stars of the show – those young, immensely talented performers – could have shone even brighter

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London

15 Jul 2018

Prom 3: An inflated Prom to celebrate BBC Young Musicians

By Olivia Bell

London

O/MODƏRNT at Wigmore Hall: A descent into melodrama

By Olivia Bell, 07 April 2018

Conceptually, the programme of descending and rising fourths offered a real treat: in practice, the musicians' skill was in danger of being lost as they attempted to recover from their opening gimmickry.

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London

07 Apr 2018

O/MODƏRNT at Wigmore Hall: A descent into melodrama

By Olivia Bell

London

Hakhnazaryan at Wigmore Hall: a riotous jig with a touch of class

By Olivia Bell, 02 April 2018

Hakhnazaryan’s programme was rich with meaty music.

*****

London

02 Apr 2018

Hakhnazaryan at Wigmore: a riotous jig with a touch of class

By Olivia Bell

London

Static but worth the slog: ETO's two-part Giulio Cesare

By Olivia Bell, 07 October 2017

Conway's decision to render Handel's epic in its entirety was let down by a static staging and unnecessary repeats that masked the hidden gem-like arias.

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London

07 Oct 2017

Static but worth the slog: ETO's Giulio Cesare

By Olivia Bell

London

A Vespers on wilted wings: the AAM tackle Monteverdi

By Olivia Bell, 23 June 2017

Sublime orchestral playing and stellar soloists don't quite make up for a lacklustre performance by the Academy's choir in Monteverdi's moving work

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London

23 Jun 2017

AAM tackle Monteverdi

By Olivia Bell

London

A moving tribute in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird

By Olivia Bell, 09 June 2017

Lawrence Brownlee gives a compelling performance that truly does the groundbreaking saxophonist justice.

****1

London

09 Jun 2017

A moving tribute in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird

By Olivia Bell

London

An emotional dedication: Duruflé & Fauré Requiems at the Royal Festival Hall

By Olivia Bell, 04 June 2017

Despite being a little rough and ready at times, the Rodolfus Choir and superb Philharmonia captured a moving sense of stillness in these two popular works

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London

04 Jun 2017

An emotional dedication: Duruflé & Fauré Requiems at the Royal Festival Hall

By Olivia Bell

London

An operatic big hitter: Juan Diego Flórez at the Royal Albert Hall

By Olivia Bell, 02 June 2017

This was less a concert of two halves than one of two tenors: able to dramatise the music of Puccini and Verdi far more effectively than his earlier Mozart, Flórez came alive.

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London

02 Jun 2017

An operatic big hitter: Juan Diego Flórez

By Olivia Bell

London

A poised and pretty outing of a prodigy's exercises

By Olivia Bell, 16 May 2017

Mozart's “pasticcio concertos”, composed at the remarkable age of 11, may lack integral vibrancy and brilliance, but are brought to life by an exuberant Bezuidenhout

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London

16 May 2017

A poised and pretty outing of a prodigy's exercises

By Olivia Bell

London

Andreas Scholl at the Barbican: intimate devotion to a lamenting mother

By Olivia Bell, 14 March 2017

Joined by the exquisitely subtle Accademia Bizantina led by Alessandro Tampieri, Scholl brought little-known but no less great devotions to the Virgin Mary to life with impetus and intimacy.

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London

14 Mar 2017

Intimate devotion to a lamenting mother

By Olivia Bell

London

Petticoated pirate romp: The Pirates of Penzance at ENO

By Olivia Bell, 09 February 2017

There’s nothing new or inventive about Leigh’s revived production, which in itself is not a crime, but neither is there an abundance of energy; it's all a bit nice.

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London

09 Feb 2017

Petticoated pirate romp at ENO

By Olivia Bell

London

Polished, but no cracker: Les Arts Florissants perform Handel’s Messiah

By Olivia Bell, 19 December 2016

Polished, deft and attentive, Les Arts Florissants deliver in concert the same slickness that we have come to expect from their impressive array of recordings, but lack vital energy.

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London

19 Dec 2016

Polished, but no cracker

By Olivia Bell

London

La Calisto: Sublime singing saves Cavalli’s work from farce

By Olivia Bell, 28 November 2016

Despite the beautiful sensitivity of La Nuova Musica, coupled with some truly sublime singing, the silliness of Cavalli’s opera is sometimes overplayed in this semi-staged production; less is, sometimes, more.

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London

28 Nov 2016

La Calisto: Sublime singing

By Olivia Bell

London

The Fair Maid of the Mill: Toby Spence’s lovelorn miller embodies new translation

By Olivia Bell, 23 October 2016

Purists look away. Translating Müller’s poetry from its sublime German to work well in English was always going to be a difficult task, but Spence’s infectious enthusiasm carried it off.

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London

23 Oct 2016

Toby Spence’s lovelorn miller embodies new translation

By Olivia Bell

London

Xerxes: ETO’s quirky revival sparkles vocally but is not all plane sailing

By Olivia Bell, 08 October 2016

Updating 470BC Abydos to a 1940s RAF base complete with tin hangar and outdoor privy seemed at times more Dad’s Army than a particularly cohesive tale of war and love.

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London

08 Oct 2016

Xerxes: quirky revival sparkles vocally

By Olivia Bell