East meets West in Britten’s emotionally wrenching Curlew River

By Ako Imamura, 31 October 2014

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“The result is neither the East nor the West, but is uniquely Britten”

Reviewed at Cathedral Church of St John the Divine, New York City on 30 October 2014

Britten, Curlew River, church parable

Martin Fitzpatrick, Conductor

Netia Jones, Director

Ian Bostridge, Madwoman

Mark Stone, Ferryman

Britten Sinfonia

Irish National Opera’s new Rusalka intrigues more than it convinces

Andrew Larkin, 22nd March

Netia Jones’ modern reimagining intrigues more than it convinces, but still makes a strong case for Dvořák’s dark fairy tale.

***11

Netia Jones directs Pinchgut Opera in a well-oiled Fairy Queen

Jeremy Eccles, 7th June

A rare 17th-century English Baroque spectacular, designed to delight the Restoration crowd, is given a contemporary twist in Sydney.

****1

Garsington Opera's new A Midsummer Night's Dream

Roy Westbrook, 16th June

In the first and last acts, ladies entered with a train still attached to a bolt of cloth, which was then cut to length by an attendant. Was this production brought to the stage in a great hurry, allowing no time for costume fittings?

***11

Irish National Opera’s Least like the other at the Linbury

David Karlin, 15th January

Brian Irvine and Netia Jones pull no punches in telling the story of Rosemary Kennedy, sister of JFK and Bobby, left permanently disabled by a lobotomy at the age of 23

****1

Truth and Wisdom: a searching Zauberflöte at Garsington

Mark Pullinger, 31st May

A twist on the usual Enlightenment path, this is an admirable production, excellently executed.

****1

A silvery Dream lost among the shadows

Mark Pullinger, 11th June

Netia Jones' new production taps into Britten's silvery underworld in a staging dominated by video wizardry which is hypnotically beautiful, but comes at a price.

***11

More reviews...

Ako Imamura

Atsuko (Ako) Imamura is a retired investment banker in New York City. Born in Japan, she trained as cultural anthropologist in the US before turning to ﬁnance. She now spends her time attending opera and classical music concerts in New York and in Europe. Wagner is her favorite opera composer.