A powerful Peter Grimes in Edinburgh

By David Smythe, 14 August 2017

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“The orchestra played as if blown across the North Sea from Norway by a huge monster of a storm”

Reviewed at Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 13 August 2017

Britten, Peter Grimes (Concert performance)

Edward Gardner, Conductor

Stuart Skelton, Peter Grimes

Erin Wall, Ellen Orford

Christopher Purves, Captain Balstrode

Susan Bickley, Auntie

Robert Murray, Bob Boles

Hanna Husáhr, First Niece

Vibeke Kristensen, Second Niece

Barnaby Rea, Hobson

James Gilchrist, Rev Horace Adams

Andrew Greenan, Swallow

Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Mrs Sedley

Marcus Farnsworth, Ned Keene

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Edvard Grieg Choir

Longborough Festival Opera season starts slow with Orlando

Eleanor Knight, 30th May

Beth Taylor gives the lows and highs of Handel's heroics an almighty, whole-body shakedown in Sinéad O'Neill’s new staging of Handel's Orlando.

***11

Bang! Mozart’s volcano erupts in Opera Holland Park’s Così fan tutte

Peter Quantrill, 28th May

Mount Vesuvius looms over Cecilia Stinton’s compelling new production of Così fan tutte.

****1

Viennese splendour in Garsington’s Rosenkavalier revival

Roy Westbrook, 28th May

Bruno Ravella's splendid 2021 production of Strauss' opera of Viennese manners returns with a fine cast.

****1

A witty hotel Don Giovanni opens Blackwater Valley Festival

Andrew Larkin, 27th May

Tom Creed’s witty production at Lismore Castle delivers strong singing, sharp comedy and lively orchestral playing, even if the opera’s darker supernatural edges are somewhat diminished.

****1

Garsington’s new La traviata ticks every musical and dramatic box

David Karlin, 27th May

Music Director Douglas Boyd conducts a performance of exceptional musical quality, and Louisa Muller's uncontroversial but passionate direction makes this Traviata one for the ages.

*****

Werther revived at San Carlo: an anatomy of emotional isolation

Lorenzo Fiorito, 26th May

Willy Decker’s psychologically intense Werther returns to the Teatro di San Carlo with a deeply human interpretation by Francesco Demuro and refined conducting by Lorenzo Passerini.

*****

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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.

Edward Gardner and the Bergen Phil storm the Edinburgh Festival with a powerful Peter Grimes