Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Francesca Chiejina

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Górecki’s Sorrowful Songs meditative and powerful at Celtic Connections

By David Smythe, 20 January 2026

The Celtic Connections festival showcases Górecki’s Sorrowful Songs, the BBC Scottish with soprano Francesca Chiejina conducted by Pawel Kapula with a thoughtful introductory song set from Alice Zawadzki.

****1

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****1

Glasgow

20 Jan 2026

Meditative and powerful Górecki at Celtic Connections

By David Smythe

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London

The Royal Ballet’s Light of Passage: mesmerisingly beautiful

By Amanda Jennings, 20 February 2025

Overall, Light of Passage is one of those glorious pieces where music, choreography and design meld together to make theatrical magic.

*****

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*****

London

20 Feb 2025

The Royal Ballet’s Light of Passage: mesmerisingly beautiful

By Amanda Jennings

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Bristol

A migrant's tale: Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton's Odyssey wins hearts in Bristol

By David Karlin, 28 January 2024

The refurbished Beacon stages a world premiere of a large choral work which imbues complete empathy for one migrant and his story.

*****

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*****

Bristol

28 Jan 2024

Dove and Middleton's Odyssey wins hearts in Bristol

By David Karlin

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Manchester

Astounding beauty in the BBC Philharmonic's Alpine Symphony

By Rohan Shotton, 01 April 2023

NIcholas Collon conducts the BBC Philharmonic in a superbly conceived programme that demonstrates “quality, agility and impact”.

****1

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****1

Manchester

01 Apr 2023

Astounding beauty in the BBC Philharmonic's Alpine Symphony

By Rohan Shotton

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Glasgow

Sir David McVicar's new Trittico a triumph for Scottish Opera

By David Smythe, 11 March 2023

Scottish Opera’s 60th birthday present proves a triumph, with outstanding singing from Karen Cargill, Sunyoung Seo, Viktor Antipenko and Roland Wood.

*****

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*****

Glasgow

11 Mar 2023

Sir David McVicar's new Trittico a triumph for Scottish Opera

By David Smythe

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London

Hauntingly beautiful: Crystal Pite's Light of Passage at The Royal Ballet

By Graham Watts, 18 October 2022

Pite's first full-length ballet at the Royal Opera House is a brief but powerful work, expanding her 2017 creation, Flight Pattern.

****1

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****1

London

18 Oct 2022

Hauntingly beautiful: Crystal Pite's Light of Passage at the ROH

By Graham Watts

London

Bo-ho: ETO takes Bohème to Hackney

By Dominic Lowe, 26 February 2022

English Touring Opera has revived James Conway's production of La bohème to launch the company back to full operations post-lockdown. What this new run lacks in finesse is made up for in bags of heart and spirit.

****1

****1

London

26 Feb 2022

Bo-ho: ETO takes Bohème to Hackney

By Dominic Lowe

London

English Touring Opera heads back on the road with Handel's Amadigi

By Mark Valencia, 01 October 2021

It sizzles with energy, fizzes with musical delight and rejoices in an understated sense of fun. Conway gives the work’s incongruities free rein and defies the audience not to chuckle.

****1

****1

London

01 Oct 2021

English Touring Opera heads back on the road with Handel's Amadigi

By Mark Valencia

London

Power and precision from John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London at the Proms

By Alexander Hall, 04 September 2021

Spanning almost a century in musical terms, from the old-world elegance of Johann Strauss to one of his greatest admirers, Erich Korngold, John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London demonstrate orchestral excellence.

****1

****1

London

04 Sep 2021

Power and precision from John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London

By Alexander Hall

London

At Wilton’s Music Hall, a ghost light for Britten’s ghost story

By Mark Pullinger, 26 January 2021

When the pandemic struck and theatres were locked down, OperaGlass Works' staging of The Turn of the Screw was an early casualty. Creative thinking turned the production into a film, with London's oldest music hall the set.

****1

****1

London

26 Jan 2021

At Wilton’s Music Hall, a ghost light for Britten’s ghost story

By Mark Pullinger

West Horsley

Polished Porgy: Gershwin triumphs in Surrey

By Matthew Rye, 08 June 2019

Grange Park Opera’s new production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess makes for a searingly effective evening of music and drama.

****1

****1

West Horsley

08 Jun 2019

Polished Porgy: Gershwin triumphs in Surrey

By Matthew Rye

London

A bad hair day for Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Medusa at The Royal Ballet

By Graham Watts, 08 May 2019

A mixed bill of modern work showcases the diverse talents of The Royal Ballet.

***11

***11

London

08 May 2019

A bad hair day for Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Medusa

By Graham Watts

London

Prom 17: Purity and passion from Martyn Brabbins and the BBC NOW

By Chris Garlick, 27 July 2018

Even if Hubert Parry was overshadowed by Holst and Vaughan Williams, this was a splendid concert of British music.

*****

*****

London

27 Jul 2018

Purity and passion in first class British music

By Chris Garlick

London

Netrebko and Lučić in Macbeth: a Covent Garden masterclass in operatic villainy

By David Karlin, 25 March 2018

The Royal Opera's revival of Phyllida Lloyd's production is marked by two outstanding Verdian singers and a superb rendering of the score from Pappano and the ROH Orchestra.

****1

****1

London

25 Mar 2018

Masterfully villainous: Netrebko and Lučić in Macbeth

By David Karlin

London

Monteverdi on a doughnut: A drab Return of Ulysses fails to thrill the Roundhouse

By David Karlin, 10 January 2018

A series of ill-advised staging choices leads to a disappointingly drab performance of Monteverdi's Homeric epic.

**111

**111

London

10 Jan 2018

Monteverdi on a doughnut: Ulysses fails to thrill

By David Karlin

London

Dimitri Platanias stands out in a mixed Covent Garden Rigoletto

By David Karlin, 14 December 2017

The father-daughter exchanges between Dmitri Platanias's jester and Sofia Fomina's Gilda prove the highlights of an evening which doesn't always catch fire.

***11

***11

London

14 Dec 2017

Dimitri Platanias stands out in a mixed Covent Garden Rigoletto

By David Karlin

London

Tragedy undermined: Peter Brook's La Tragédie de Carmen at Wilton's Music Hall

By Mark Pullinger, 04 November 2017

Paring the action down to just four singers, La Tragédie de Carmen is the perfect vehicle and venue for a handful of the Royal Opera's Jette Parker Young Artists to strut their stuff.

**111

**111

London

04 Nov 2017

Tragedy undermined at Wilton's

By Mark Pullinger

London

Royal Opera's Don Carlo revival fails to completely catch fire

By Mark Pullinger, 12 May 2017

Has Health and Safety finally caught up with the Spanish Inquisition? A flameless auto-da-fé and some low-key individual performances meant this revival took time to hit its stride.

***11

***11

London

12 May 2017

Don Carlo revival fails to completely catch fire

By Mark Pullinger

London

The Royal Ballet: The Human Seasons/ After the Rain / Flight Pattern

By Graham Watts, 16 March 2017

A world premiere that gives yet more credence to the burgeoning reputation of Crystal Pite for creating absorbing mass movement of considerable beauty

***11

***11

London

16 Mar 2017

The Human Seasons/ After the Rain / Flight Pattern

By Graham Watts

London

Prom 75: Partygoers, pomp and Paddington Bear

By Rohan Shotton, 10 September 2016

The 2016 Proms come to a riotous close at the Royal Albert Hall.

***11

***11

London

10 Sep 2016

Partygoers, pomp and Paddington Bear

By Rohan Shotton