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London

Lights, camera, distraction: Opera Holland Park stages B-movie Bohème

By Stephen Pritchard, 19 July 2023

Natascha Metherell relocates the action to an Italian film studio of the 1950s, which looks great but brings problems.

***11

***11

London

20 Jul 2023

Lights, camera, distraction: Opera Holland Park stages B-movie Bohème

By Stephen Pritchard

Edinburgh

Edinburgh International Festival closes in style with a terrific Ariadne auf Naxos

By David Smythe, 25 August 2021

Memorable role debuts from Dorothea Röschmann, David Butt Philip and Catriona Morison make Ariadne auf Naxos with the RSNO and Lothar Koenigs a night to savour.

****1

****1

Edinburgh

26 Aug 2021

EIF closes in style with a terrific Ariadne auf Naxos

By David Smythe

Madrid

The martyrs and the oppressed: Peter Grimes at Teatro Real Madrid

By Juan José Freijo, 19 April 2021

The new production of Peter Grimes stands out as the strongest item in Teatro Real's season, with magnificent staging by Deborah Warner and superb musical direction by Ivor Bolton, with outstanding vocal and dramatic performances.

*****

*****

Madrid

21 Apr 2021

The martyrs and the oppressed: Peter Grimes at Teatro Real Madrid

By Juan José Freijo

London

True Grimes: a gripping semi-staging of Britten’s opera

By Matthew Rye, 30 November 2019

A psychologically penetrating semi-staging of Britten’s Peter Grimes from leading soloists, the Bergen Philharmonic and its chief conductor Ed Gardner laid bare the opera’s music and drama.

****1

****1

London

01 Dec 2019

True Grimes: a gripping semi-staging of Britten’s opera

By Matthew Rye

London

Guilty secrets: Wolf-Ferrari entertains, Tchaikovsky bewitches at Opera Holland Park

By David Karlin, 22 July 2019

Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna provides an airy bon-bouche to Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, brilliantly sung by Natalya Romaniw and David Butt Philip and conducted to fairy-tale perfection by Sian Edwards

***11

***11

London

23 Jul 2019

Wolf-Ferrari entertains, Tchaikovsky bewitches at Holland Park

By David Karlin

London

Singing animals, heroic lumberjacks, pure melody and riotous entertainment in ENO's Paul Bunyan

By David Karlin, 09 May 2019

The American Dream hits Ally Pally in a vivacious performance of Britten's eclectic operetta, headlined by an ENO chorus who knock it out of the park.

****1

****1

London

10 May 2019

Pure melody and riotous entertainment: ENO's Paul Bunyan

By David Karlin

Frankfurt am Main

Indomitable: Billy Budd in Frankfurt

By Matthew Rye, 25 May 2018

Oper Frankfurt's revival of Richard Jones's production of Billy Budd with a homegrown cast is a devastating combination of powerful music and searing drama.

*****

*****

Frankfurt am Main

26 May 2018

Indomitable: Billy Budd in Frankfurt

By Matthew Rye

London

A colourful, exuberant riot: Iolanthe at English National Opera

By David Karlin, 13 February 2018

Cal McCrystal goes long on the ham and keeps the gags flowing in a visually stunning production that will delight G&S lovers.

****1

****1

London

14 Feb 2018

A colourful, exuberant riot: ENO's Iolanthe

By David Karlin

Edinburgh

Edward Gardner and the Bergen Phil storm the Edinburgh Festival with a powerful Peter Grimes

By David Smythe, 13 August 2017

Stuart Skelton’s visceral Peter Grimes is matched by a strong cast with thrilling playing and singing from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner.

****1

****1

Edinburgh

14 Aug 2017

A powerful Peter Grimes in Edinburgh

By David Smythe

Bergen

Psychologically splintered: Stuart Skelton leads a stellar Peter Grimes in Bergen

By Mark Valencia, 30 May 2017

This Peter Grimes was a tale of two talents: the conductor and the star.

*****

*****

Bergen

31 May 2017

A stellar Peter Grimes in Bergen

By Mark Valencia

Frankfurt am Main

On the Rake: Stravinsky at Oper Frankfurt

By Matthew Rye, 31 March 2017

A largely newly cast revival of The Rake's Progress takes a while to catch fire, but when it does the results are devilishly good.

****1

****1

Frankfurt am Main

01 Apr 2017

On the Rake: Stravinsky at Oper Frankfurt

By Matthew Rye

London

Miller's Rigoletto makes a flawed return to English National Opera

By Dominic Lowe, 02 February 2017

Jonathan Miller's production remains a work of brilliance, but poor conducting amongst other things keeps this revival from getting off the ground.

***11

***11

London

04 Feb 2017

Miller's Rigoletto makes a flawed return to ENO

By Dominic Lowe

London

Vocal pyrotechnics and Rossinian laughs: La Cenerentola at Opera Holland Park

By Dominic Lowe, 14 July 2016

Opera Holland Park's traditionally staged Cenerentola has plenty of sparkle and a fine cast of talented singers.

****1

****1

London

15 Jul 2016

Vocal pyrotechnics and Rossinian laughs

By Dominic Lowe

Bradford on Avon

So foul and fair a day: Verdi's Macbeth at Iford

By Charlotte Valori, 11 June 2016

Iford's stone cloister makes a suitably eerie setting for a fine traditional account of Verdi's Macbeth, notable for its powerful male leads, from Iford Festival Opera and the CHROMA Ensemble.

****1

****1

Bradford on Avon

15 Jun 2016

So foul and fair a day: Verdi's Macbeth at Iford

By Charlotte Valori

London

Shore’s Bartolo shines in a Barber as frothy as Figaro’s shaving foam at ENO

By Mark Pullinger, 28 September 2015

A wittily staged, but variably sung twelfth revival of Jonathan Miller's production at the Coliseum.

***11

***11

London

29 Sep 2015

A Barber as frothy as Figaro’s shaving foam

By Mark Pullinger

High Wycombe

Love's not Time's fool: Intermezzo at Garsington

By David Karlin, 06 June 2015

At Garsington Opera, Richard Strauss' Intermezzo presents an utterly compelling picture of a mature marriage with its joys and trials; Mary Dunleavy brings it to life with a top class piece of acting.

****1

****1

High Wycombe

07 Jun 2015

Love's not Time's fool: Intermezzo at Garsington

By David Karlin

London

Jonathan Miller's La bohème returns to ENO

By David Karlin, 29 October 2014

ENO's revival of Jonathan Miller's 2009 production is musically solid, but falls short of the dramatic intensity achieved in previous years.

***11

***11

London

30 Oct 2014

Jonathan Miller's La bohème returns to ENO

By David Karlin

London

"One that lov'd not wisely but too well": a visceral Otello at ENO

By Mark Pullinger, 13 September 2014

“Beware, my Lord, of jealousy” warns Iago, planting the seed of doubt in Otello’s mind. Beware, too, the dangers of preconceptions. Keen anticipation of this new production of Verdi’s Otello was tempered by the prospect of David Alden as director.

****1

****1

London

14 Sep 2014

A visceral Otello at ENO

By Mark Pullinger

London

Musical grit mars a pearl of a production

By Mark Pullinger, 16 June 2014

It is a myth that pearls can be formed from grit and so it proved here, where a vastly underwhelming musical performance sullied a much improved production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers.

**111

**111

London

16 Jun 2014

Musical grit mars a pearl of a production

By Mark Pullinger

London

Not for beginners: Christopher Alden's Rigoletto at ENO

By David Karlin, 13 February 2014

Last night’s opening of Christopher Alden’s allusive, conceptual Rigoletto for ENO, a co-production with Canadian Opera Company, was a notable event for London opera. Musically, ENO have been on top of their game this season and last night was no exception.

****1

****1

London

14 Feb 2014

ENO: Rigoletto

By David Karlin

Glasgow

Scottish Opera's sinister Venetian Don Giovanni suits the dark tale perfectly

By David Smythe, 26 October 2013

A year of theatre refurbishment leaves Scottish Opera with only three and half full productions this season, so the spotlight turned firmly onto this Don Giovanni from director Sir Thomas Allen, designer Simon Higlett and lighting designer Mark Jonathan.

***11

***11

Glasgow

06 Nov 2013

Scottish Opera: Don Giovanni

By David Smythe

London

Beguiling Britten: GSMD's A Midsummer Night's Dream

By Francesca Vella, 28 February 2012

Britten’s only Shakespeare opera was a last-minute commission to celebrate the opening of the refurbished Jubilee Hall at the 1960 Aldeburgh Festival. Despite the narrow timescale, Britten and his collaborator and partner Peter Pears notoriously strove to adhere to the sixteen-century dramatic text as closely as possible. Only a handful of Shakespeare’s original lines were substantially modified.

****1

****1

London

01 Mar 2012

Beguiling Britten: GSMD's A Midsummer Night's Dream

By Francesca Vella

London

Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor

By Verity Sancroft, 14 November 2011

Otto Nicolai’s very German take on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor was a big hit in the mid-19th century but has been infrequently performed since then, largely because Verdi’s version, Falstaff, completely eclipsed it.

London

15 Nov 2011

Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor

By Verity Sancroft

Frankfurt am Main

Im Wald verborgener Träume: A Midsummer Night’s Dream im Bockenheimer Depot

By Alexandra Richter, 11 May 2022

Brigitte Fassbaender kehrt für ihre vierte Produktion an die Oper Frankfurt zurück und inszeniert Brittens Shakespeare-Vertonung im surrealen Zauberwald.

****1

****1

Frankfurt am Main

14 May 2022

Im Wald verborgener Träume: A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Frankfurt

By Alexandra Richter

Lyon

Avec Irrelohe, Franz Schreker revient hanter l'Opéra de Lyon

By Irma Foletti, 19 March 2022

David Bösch monte une formidable nouvelle production d'Irrelohe de Franz Schreker, compositeur encore trop rarement joué. Sous la baguette habile de Bernhard Kontarsky, Ambur Braid se distingue dans le rôle d'Eva.

****1

****1

Lyon

20 Mar 2022

Avec Irrelohe, Franz Schreker revient hanter l'Opéra de Lyon

By Irma Foletti

Toulouse

Une Elektra explosive pour clôturer la saison du Théâtre du Capitole

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer, 04 July 2021

Avec son orchestre sur scène, son plateau ensanglanté et son excellente distribution, l'Elektra haute en couleurs de Michel Fau vient clôturer la saison amputée du Théâtre du Capitole.

****1

****1

Toulouse

06 Jul 2021

Une Elektra explosive pour clôturer la saison du Capitole

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer

Toulouse

Le Capitole rouvre ses portes avec La Force du destin

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer, 23 May 2021

À Toulouse, le Théâtre du Capitole accueille à nouveau du public (non sans quelques aménagements) depuis le 23 mai, avec une belle Force du destin de concert, emmenée par Catherine Hunold.

****1

****1

Toulouse

24 May 2021

Le Capitole rouvre ses portes avec La Force du destin

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer

Frankfurt am Main

Die Verachtung der Wirklichkeit: Drei Krenek-Kurzopern in Frankfurt

By Alexandra Richter, 11 October 2019

Ernst Kreneks Kurzopern kehren nach der Auszeichnung zur Wiederentdeckung des Jahres 2018 zurück auf die Bühne der Oper Frankfurt.

***11

***11

Frankfurt am Main

14 Oct 2019

Die Verachtung der Wirklichkeit: Drei Krenek-Kurzopern in Frankfurt

By Alexandra Richter

Frankfurt am Main

Lethargisch, komisch, ironisch: Peter Eötvös' Tri Sestri an der Oper Frankfurt

By Miriam Zeh, 09 September 2018

Eötvös' drei Melancholie-Schwestern führen das Frankfurter Publikum durch die todtraurigen und absurden Existenzformen des postmodernen menschlichen Daseins.

*****

*****

Frankfurt am Main

10 Sep 2018

Lethargisch, komisch, ironisch: Eötvös' Tri Sestri in Frankfurt

By Miriam Zeh

Frankfurt am Main

Verdi's Falstaff in Frankfurt: Heimspiel für Željko Lučić

By Stephan Eckel, 23 September 2016

Željko Lučić als Gast zu Haus: Wieder singt er eine hinreißende Partie an der Oper Frankfurt.

****1

****1

Frankfurt am Main

25 Sep 2016

Heimspiel für Željko Lučić in Frankfurter Falstaff

By Stephan Eckel