Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Dan Shelvey

Showing 10 of 10 reviews

Ronald Samm (Canio) © Richard Hubert Smith

Art imitates art in English Touring Opera’s bracing new Pagliacci

By Dominic Lowe, 10 April 2026

Divorced from Cavalleria rusticana, English Touring Opera’s contemporary take on Leoncavallo’s masterpiece ticks all the boxes.

****1

****1

London

10 Apr 2026

Art imitates art in ETO’s bracing new Pagliacci

By Dominic Lowe

Justina Gringytė (Carmen) © James Glossop

Glasgow

Fulljames' police thriller Carmen closes Scottish Opera season

By David Smythe, 16 May 2023

Fine singing from Justina Gringytė, Alok Kumar and Hye-Youn Lee lead a strong supporting cast, with Dane Lam conducting the Scottish Opera Orchestra and Chorus on top form.

****1

****1

Glasgow

16 May 2023

Fulljames' police thriller Carmen closes Scottish Opera season

By David Smythe

Lauren Fagan (Margarita Xirgu) © James Glossop

Glasgow

Deborah Colker gives Golijov's Ainadamar energetic grit at Scottish Opera

By David Smythe, 29 October 2022

Scottish Opera’s visually stunning new production is headed by a strong trio of Lauren Fagan, Julieth Lozano and Samantha Hankey.

****1

****1

Glasgow

29 Oct 2022

Deborah Colker gives Ainadamar energetic grit at Scottish Opera

By David Smythe

Glasgow

Scottish Opera's spectacular Gondoliers bump starts its new season

By David Smythe, 16 October 2021

Stuart Maunder directs a lavishly costumed cast, Derek Clark conducts fine playing and singing and Isabel Baquero’s choreography sparkles.

****1

****1

Glasgow

16 Oct 2021

Scottish Opera's spectacular Gondoliers bump starts its new season

By David Smythe

London

The Monstrous Child: Norse hell in the depths of the Royal Opera House

By David Karlin, 21 February 2019

The Linbury re-opens its doors to opera with a new work whose libretto is superbly crafted by Francesca Simon, featuring a tour de force performance by Marta Fontanals-Simmons as the Norse goddess Hel.

****1

****1

London

21 Feb 2019

The Monstrous Child: Norse hell in Covent Garden

By David Karlin

Glyndebourne

Tears before bedtime: El-Khoury transcends Cairns’ chilly Glyndebourne Traviata

By Mark Pullinger, 01 August 2017

Glyndebourne's second Traviata cast of the summer saw the festival field three principals worthy of any major international opera house.

****1

****1

Glyndebourne

01 Aug 2017

El-Khoury transcends Cairns’ chilly Traviata

By Mark Pullinger

Glyndebourne

A strong Violetta carries an uninspired Traviata revival at Glyndebourne

By Dominic Lowe, 21 May 2017

Tom Cairns' production feels empty and distracted, but Kristina Mkhitaryan was a sensational Violetta, strongly reinforced by an impressive Germont from Igor Golovatenko.

****1

****1

Glyndebourne

21 May 2017

A strong Violetta carries an uninspired Traviata revival

By Dominic Lowe

Manchester

Shostakovich's Moscow, Cheryomushki at the RNCM

By Andrew H. King, 21 March 2013

Shostakovich’s 1959 operetta Moscow, Cheryomushki (“Paradise Moscow”) is to date one of the most uncomfortable evenings I have ever spent in a theatre, though, I hasten to add, not because of the performance.

****1

****1

Manchester

21 Mar 2013

Shostakovich's Moscow, Cheryomushki at the RNCM

By Andrew H. King

Manchester

Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria at the RNCM

By Andrew H. King, 09 December 2012

Since its inception in 1972 the Royal Northern College of Music has gained a reputation for excellence in the field of opera, having often staged extraordinary productions of repertoire familiar and forgotten.

****1

****1

Manchester

09 Dec 2012

Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria at the RNCM

By Andrew H. King

London

Prom 37: Elgar's The Apostles with The Hallé

By Katherine Dixson, 10 August 2012

If you’ve never been to a grand-scale choral work at the Royal Albert Hall, I’d urge you to do so at the earliest opportunity. This wasn’t my first visit to the Proms, and I’ve experienced oratorios, requiems and passions galore in other places, but to hear hundreds of accomplished singers filling this vast circular space was new territory for me. The hall seemed made for the occasion.

****1

****1

London

10 Aug 2012

Prom 37: Elgar's The Apostles with The Hallé

By Katherine Dixson