The Palestine Youth Orchestra in Perth

By David Smythe, 27 July 2016

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Reviewed at Perth Concert Hall, Perth on 25 July 2016

Beethoven, Leonore Overture no. 3, Op.72b

Rahbani, River of Return: Ahtarifu al Huzna wal Intithar

Ahmad, Bi Ridhak ya Khaliqi

Rahbani, Ruddani ila Biladi

Fitkin, Metal

Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition

Arnold, Scottish Dance no. 3

Palestine Youth Orchestra

Sian Edwards, Conductor

Nai Barghouti, Vocals

Ning Feng’s Korngold is not quite a “Hollywood hit” in Poole

David Truslove, 26th November

Sian Edwards takes the helm of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Britten, Korngold and Dvořák, with mixed results.

***11

All the world’s a jest: Falstaff returns to Glyndebourne

Mark Pullinger, 23rd July

Richard Jones' 2009 production returns to Glyndebourne after a long absence, but the 1940s comedy scrubs up fresh.

***11

Sisterhood tenderly explored: Little Women at Opera Holland Park

David Karlin, 22nd July

Composer-librettist Adamo does full justice to Louisa May Alcott's 19th-century bestseller, one of the most widely read works in American literature.

****1

Wolf-Ferrari entertains, Tchaikovsky bewitches at Holland Park

David Karlin, 22nd July

Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna provides an airy bon-bouche to Tchaikovsky's Iolanta, brilliantly sung by Natalya Romaniw and David Butt Philip and conducted to fairy-tale perfection by Sian Edwards

***11

It's grim up North: a heartbreaking Katya Kabanova in Leeds

David Karlin, 2nd February

Tim Albery's production for Opera North is well sung and superbly acted, involving us deeply in Janáček's tragic family drama.

****1

Entertaining but not entrancing: Turnage's Coraline

David Karlin, 29th March

Mark-Anthony Turnage's take on Neil Gaiman's classic young adult novella is well sung and well staged, without quite reaching peak intensity.

***11

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David Smythe

David the farmer was drawn into music through choirs, orchestras, taking part in and directing 'serious' opera as a student. Passionate about live classical music, particularly chamber opera, unusual pieces and events and giving the next generation the tools to engage with the classical world.

Passion and Humanity: the Palestine Youth Orchestra on their first UK tour