True Grimes: a gripping semi-staging of Britten’s opera

By Matthew Rye, 01 December 2019

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Stuart Skelton... whose assumption of the title role has come to be definitive”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 30 November 2019

Britten, Peter Grimes (Concert performance)

Edward Gardner, Conductor

Vera Rostin Wexelsen, Director

Stuart Skelton, Peter Grimes

Erin Wall, Ellen Orford

Roderick Williams, 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

Clive Bayley, Swallow

Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Mrs Sedley

Marcus Farnsworth, Ned Keene

Bergen Philharmonic Chorus

Edvard Grieg Choir

Musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music

Collegium Musicum of London Chamber Choir

Håkon Matti Skrede, Choirmaster / chorus director

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

A stellar Peter Grimes in Bergen

Mark Valencia, 30th May

This Peter Grimes was a tale of two talents: the conductor and the star.

*****

Petrenko and Serebrennikov forge a new Ring in Salzburg

Phillip Richter, 1st April

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s much-anticipated return to Salzburg gets off to an impressive musical start. Kirill Serebrennikov’s staging raises numerous questions, but answers few of them.

****1

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera brings Spanish to the Lyric Opera

Graham Meyer, 29th March

The Lyric Opera of Chicago's presentation of El último sueño de Frida y Diego brings the Mexican artists to life... or at least a life reminiscent of their real ones.

****1

Eyes wide shut for Berlin’s new Ballo

Mark Pullinger, 29th March

At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Rafael R Villalobos addresses the problems he perceives with Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, although the musical performances – led by Anna Netrebko – compensate.

***11

A Baroque Netflix evening: Zurich’s star-studded Giulio Cesare

Mengguang Huang, 28th March

Davide Livermore’s high-octane production transforms Handel into a lavish blockbuster. While the superstars shine, the relentless entertainment-first approach often sacrifices musical refinement and dramatic logic for Netflix-style spectacle.

***11

Handel’s Belshazzar at Komische Oper Berlin

Zenaida des Aubris, 28th March

The Baroque confectionery of Herbert Fritsch's production of Handel's oratorio belies a serious core which is all too close to today's headlines.

****1

More reviews...

Matthew Rye

Matthew read music at Oxford and worked in music journalism for 30 years as a writer, critic and editor. He wrote numerous programme and CD booklet notes, spent 13 years as a Daily Telegraph critic, worked at BBC Music Magazine and was reviews editor of The Strad. He also wrote for The Wagner Journal and Opera and blogged at ferneklang.blogspot.co.uk. He was general editor of 1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die (Cassell Illustrated, 2007) and was the author of a new series of eBooks, Masterpieces of Music (Erudition).