Méhul is celebrated by the OAE

By Mark Pullinger, 11 February 2017

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“Tangy woodwind chords and fierce timpani volleys”

Reviewed at Smith Square Hall, London on 10 February 2017

Méhul, Les Amazones: Ouverture

Méhul, Mélidore et Phrosine: Du mal affreux

Gluck, Orphée et Eurydice: Dance of the Furies

Méhul, Uthal: Quoi! Je la cherche en vain

Méhul, Symphony no. 5 (Unfinished)

Beethoven, Fidelio, Op.72: Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!

Mozart, Les petite riens: Overture

Méhul, Une Folie: Traçons bien notre plan (Florival)

Kreutzer, Astianaxs: Overture

Méhul, Euphrosine et Coradin: Qu'ai-je fait malheureux (Coradin)

Salieri, Les Daniädes: Overture

Méhul, Ariodant: O Dieux écoutez ma prière (Edgard)

Méhul, Ariodant: Amour, si je succombe

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Jonathan Cohen, Conductor

Michael Spyres, Tenor

John Irvin, Tenor

Immersive OAE submerged at Southbank’s Multitudes festival

Mark Valencia, 22nd April

The road to immersion is paved with modish deflections as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment performs 20th-century English string music.

**111

Mixed Mozart from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Dominic Lowe, 26th February

A Mozart's of symphonies – his last – under conductor Robin Ticciati is capped with a fine Jupiter, but is let down by the performances of its two predecessors.

***11

John Butt and the OAE celebrate Handel's Solomon

Roy Westbrook, 12th October

The Queen of Sheba is clearly in a hurry in this account of Handel's oratorio at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

*****

Enescu Festival immersion: Bach on the street, Klimt in the forest

Peter Quantrill, 11th September

At the George Enescu International Festival, a pair of new shows crossing genres and reinventing the classics, with mostly enlightening results.

****1

Brandstrup Breaking Bach with the OAE at EIF

Kathy Elgin, 20th August

Kim Brandstrup choreographs Bach favourites based on hip hop and street dance. Lie back on the bean bags at Usher Hall and enjoy...

****1

A strong new Figaro opens at Glyndebourne

Dominic Lowe, 29th June

Mariame Clément is a popular director at Glyndebourne, and her new production of Figaro shows her trademark approach to hardhitting comedy.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

A tale of two tenors as Méhul is celebrated by the OAE