Gardiner runs Mozart ragged in The Royal Opera's Figaro

By Mark Valencia, 02 July 2019

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“Harvey’s voice is a ravishing instrument that never ceases to impress”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 29 June 2019

Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)

The Royal Opera

Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Conductor

Sir David McVicar, Director

Tanya McCallin, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Sir Simon Keenlyside, Count Almaviva

Julia Kleiter, Countess Almaviva

Christian Gerhaher, Figaro

Joélle Harvey, Susanna

Kangmin Justin Kim, Cherubino

Maurizio Muraro, Doctor Bartolo

Diana Montague, Marcellina

Alasdair Elliott, Don Curzio

Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Don Basilio

Jeremy White, Antonio

Yaritza Véliz, Barbarina

Royal Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Eleanor Knight, 26th March

Natalie Abrahami’s mesmerising new production of Britten’s ghostly tale of sexual abuse is very dark indeed.

*****

A riveting Rigoletto revival at the Royal Opera House

Dominic Lowe, 25th March

Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

****1

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

Terfel’s craggy Boris Godunov returns to Covent Garden

Mark Pullinger, 29th January

The second revival of Richard Jones' staging of Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of Boris Godunov once again stars the Welsh knight.

****1

Ermonela Jaho returns in triumph to The Royal Opera’s Traviata

Mark Valencia, 8th January

Richard Eyre’s 32-year-old production is rarely out of The Royal Opera’s repertoire for more than a few months at a time, but this particular revival proves very special.

*****

Turandot drowned in an orchestral tsunami at The Royal Opera

David Karlin, 15th December

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***11

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Mark Valencia

Mark has worked in arts journalism for four decades, both as a writer and as a French-English translator. Nowadays he focuses his energies on reviewing opera and music. Mark also writes for Opera magazine and for Musical America as a correspondent for Europe and the UK.