Obsession, isolation and terror at the Royal College of Music

By Benjamin Poore, 02 July 2018

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“Blazes sang a grotesque murder ballad with ghoulish glee”

Reviewed at Royal College of Music: Britten Theatre, London on 29 June 2018

Watkins, In the Locked Room

Davies, The Lighthouse

Royal College of Music Opera Studio

Michael Rosewell, Conductor

Stephen Unwin, Director

Hannah Wolfe, Set Designer

David Harsent

Josephine Goddard, Soprano

Christian Adolph, Baritone

Rhys Batt, Tenor

Hugo Herman-Wilson, Baritone

Richard Pinkstone, Tenor

Adam Maxey, Bass-baritone

Katy Thomson, Soprano

Trojan’s Carousel: a magical night of dreams come true in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 23rd April

A vintage opera at the National Theatre offers charming adventures for children and musical sophistication for adults.

*****

Women take over: Future Dance Festival at New York's 92nd Street Y

Carla Escoda, 17th April

Two evenings of live dance and a full program of dance films from young choreographers yielded much to admire and be amused by at the Future Dance Festival 2026.

****1

Regents Opera’s Salome lands a knockout punch at York Hall

Mark Pullinger, 10th April

Mark Ravenhill directs a brutal, bloody Salome at the spiritual home of British boxing, York Hall.

****1

Ensemble Masques opens “Cembalomania” at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 12th December

Ensemble Masques brings French Baroque to life at the Elbphilharmonie, with Olivier Fortin’s radiant harpsichord, spirited strings and vivid interplay revealing the expressive richness of Couperin, Rameau, Forqueray and Corrette.

****1

La bohème as escapist epic at LA Opera

Néstor Castiglione, 22nd November

Puccini's tale of bohemian love lives on at the Dorothy Chandler as LA Opera launches its 2025-26 season.

****1

John Neumeier’s Liliom: A Prague triumph

Graham Watts, 23rd October

Czech National Ballet scores a hit in John Neumeier’s masterpiece Liliom, with back to back performances and multiple casts.

*****

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Benjamin Poore

Benjamin Poore is a writer and critic. His book on psychoanalysis and literature is forthcoming in 2019. He has previously written about literature and culture for the Independent, the Times Literary Supplement, and Times Higher Education. In his spare time he tries to sing Schubert; he has a very patient teacher.