Subtitled ‘A Century of Photography’, this is an absolute crowd-pleaser of an exhibition, precision-tooled to draw in the fascinated tourist alongside the domestic royal-watcher. However, whatever your views on the monarchy (which, I can assure you, it won’t change in any way), I still think it deserves your attention. This is a show equally concerned…
Author: ArtMuseLondon
ArtMuseLondon is a site for reviews of art exhibitions and music in London, and general cultural musings, written by people with a keen interest and an honest, accessible approach.
Paul Grant Cuts It as the Barber of Seville at Opera Holland Park
It was over to Opera Holland Park again, this time for Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. In its time, this opera was a huge success and it remains popular to this day. I have seen it twice in the last few months, at English National Opera, and last Thursday at Opera Holland Park. What makes this such…
Tosca and her Toy Boy tenor impress at OHP
Opera Holland Park has opened the season with Puccini’s operatic blockbuster Tosca. At OHP the stage was transformed into a back alley in Rome. It was 1968, mid-election, and there was trouble on the streets. In the opening scene, the police laid into demonstrators, political prisoners hid out in the church, while police chief, Scarpia, issued…
A new support system: Music Patron
Music Patron is an exciting, fascinating and even provocative new arts-funding initiative. It not only examines and challenges the ways we can, and do, support musicians, but offers a solution that aims to achieve practical, positive outcomes in the face of ongoing financial and ideological attacks on the industry. The name itself deliberately conjures up…
Inside tracks: Olivia Chaney, ‘Circus of Desire’
Because Olivia Chaney only makes great records, it’s tempting to take her new album ‘Circus of Desire’ almost for granted: of course it’s another 40 minutes of uninterrupted beauty and understated elegance. But to do so would be a terrible mistake, especially if it meant ignoring the knotty contradictions and thrilling undercurrents in this latest…
The Kukal Quartet make their UK debut at the Czech Centre London
2024 has been the “Year of Czech Music” at the Czech Centre, London. Concerts and films have abounded to remind Londoners not only of the Czech Republic’s incredibly rich heritage but also of its continuing support for its emerging arts and music. One Czech quartet which came to my attention this week was the Kukal…
Dress code: ‘Sargent and Fashion’, Tate Britain, London
Anyone with an interest in portraiture will want to see this exhibition – a glorious opportunity to see more than 50 of John Singer Sargent’s paintings gathered in one place. The fashion theme provides a fascinating through-line, a starting point to appreciate the skill and complexity of Sargent’s compositions. But there are multiple layers to…
A reflective, sensitive musical journey with pianist Ashley Wass
BLACK & WHITE Ashley Wass, piano This new release from British pianist Ashley Wass celebrates a significant milestone in his musical life – some 40 years since he first touched the keys of a piano. Black and White, the album and corresponding live concerts, is a reflection of the Wass’s desire to find stillness, focus…
A perfect prelude to spring – Natural Connections: Leon McCawley, piano
It’s a truly delightful recording to which Leon McCawley brings his characteristic tastefulness and clarity. Water really does glitter in his hands, lyrical melodies are deftly sculpted and sensitively phrased, and every single piece on this album is communicated with great care and obvious affection.
Going dark: ‘Duke Bluebeard’s Castle’, English National Opera, London
Just two performances at the Coliseum for this new ‘semi-staged concert performance’ of Bartók’s only opera. A masterpiece in miniature – two main characters, their entwined fates settled in a mere hour – its enigmatic spell both terrifies and enthrals. A horror story on the surface with layers of murky psychodrama underneath: whatever one’s interpretation,…
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