Jonathan Kent’s magnificent production of Tosca dates back to 2006 when the Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel made an outstanding impression playing the evil police chief Scarpia. Now 59 years old, …
As we see all too often, an opera director can easily fall into the trap of over-thinking a new production and that is what seems to have happened in Fidelio …
There were two moments in this new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin which gave me cause for concern. On thinking about them, however, I came to realise that the American …
Verdi’s La Traviata has long been seen as one of the greatest operas despite the plot being a bit of an operatic cliché. The dramatic potential of boy-meets-girl, they fall …
David McVicar brings out the best in a young cast for this eleventh revival of his 2006 production of Mozart’s glorious Marriage of Figaro. As he has shown in many …
Since it appeared in 1790, Cosi Fan Tutte has been the most controversial of Mozart’s comic operas. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was rarely seen …
After 22 glorious years as Music Director of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano is leaving the post with a final appearance, conducting the orchestra in a fine production of …
Bizet’s Carmen has good claims to be the most popular and most often produced of all operas, which makes it difficult for a director to come up with anything both …
A stunning performance from Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian in the title role made an outstanding impression at the opening night of Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House. I have …
The British composer and sound designer Sarah Angliss received her inspiration for this new opera from a visit to the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons where she …