Cosi Fan Tutte premiered a year before Mozart’s death in 1791. It’s probably one of our most popular operas today, largely due, but not exclusively, to its exquisitely crafted arias, which Mozart produces one after another for his female singers. I attended opening night of Cosi at English National Opera with mixed feelings however. I…
Category: 18th Century
Roman Rabinovich plays Goldberg Variations in a live stream at Wigmore Hall
The Goldberg Variations has done more to widen the circle of appreciation for classical music than perhaps any other musical work. It certainly gets the youth vote, and one can see why. Regarded as the holy grail for professional pianists, it’s been interpreted by many young, world-class, artists, often male, but not exclusively so –…
ENO orchestra accompanies NOS young artists to stardom at Sinfonia Smith Square
Have you ever wondered how opera stars are made? One tends to think of a simplistic scenario, one in which opera stars are born with a god-given voice, which, eventually, projects them to fame. But life is not a TV competition. For most young artists, there is a process, and it can be lengthy, lonely…
English National Opera brings comedy to the fore with The Barber of Seville
Rossini’s Barber of Seville doesn’t often get the attention it deserves. Perhaps because it has often been unfavourably compared to Mozart’s weightier opera, Marriage of Figaro. The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro started life as plays by eighteenth century playwright, Pierre Beaumarchais. Sharing the same main characters, the operas are often confused….
Vow of violence: ‘Jephtha’, Royal Opera House, London
‘Jephtha’ was Handel’s final oratorio. He was losing his sight during its composition – ironic, perhaps, that his zealot hero is undone by what he sees at a crucial moment. And, given the work’s power and torment, it is hard not to sense Handel raging against the literal dying of the light. For those unfamiliar…
Unbound: Mahan Esfahani & Carolyn Sampson on disc and in recital
For any listener, there’s a special kind of excitement reserved for when favourite artists – those you’ve been following separately for some time, collected their records and so forth – suddenly collaborate. Examples that spring to my mind include ‘The Marble Downs’, a masterpiece made by one of the UK’s greatest (and much missed, certainly…
Bold testament: ‘Out of Her Mouth’, Dunedin Consort & soloists, Village Underground, London
A couple of watermelons still share the stage with the artists as they receive our applause. They are the lucky ones. Their fallen comrades gave their lives in mostly spectacular fashion, just one of the bravura surprises in this wildly inventive production. ‘Out of Her Mouth’ is a joint venture by Dunedin Consort, who supply…
The Fairy Queen. Purcell in a Pastoral Setting
On July 1st, for one evening only, The Fairy Queen will be performed in the gardens of Wyke House in Somerset. ArtMuseLondon’s opera reviewer, Karine Hetherington, went to talk to bass-baritone, Timothy Dickinson, and soprano, Amy Carson about Purcell’s opera. Why did you choose this opera? Timothy : Having presented Acis & Galatea, the pinnacle of so-called…
Handel’s Messiah Comes to the West End With Too Many Trimmings
Handel’s Messiah can always be relied upon to project us into the Christmas holidays. It is astonishing to think that an age-old oratorio, written in 1741, is still being performed in churches and concert halls up and down the country and that its popularity shows no signs of waning. Over the years, I’ve attended many…
Chamber Music and much more at Hatfield House – Elizabeth I’s Childhood Home.
Karine Hetherington caught up with British cellist, Guy Johnston, who is curating The Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival for the 11th year in a row. On September 29, the Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival sets off again. How did you first get involved with the magnificent house? Henry V111 housed his children at the Old…
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