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…
Category: review
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…
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…
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,…
Composer Dani Howard and her ‘Trombone Concerto’ – a journey in rhythm and brass
ArtMuseLondon’s Karine Hetherington catches up with award-winning composer Dani Howard Growing up in Hong Kong you played piano and the drums. In your large-scale compositions, the percussion certainly stands out. Does the sense of rhythm and energy in your orchestral works come from your early days drumming? Absolutely – I definitely think that this early…
Into the abyss: ‘The Zone of Interest’
I’m writing this piece, about the film ‘The Zone of Interest’, on the evening of Monday 11 March, 2024. I sketched a few rough notes out last night, then went to bed – waking this morning, of course, to news of the Oscar winners. I like to think this movie received the two awards that…
English Touring Opera stages Stravinsky’s rare Rake’s Progress at the Hackney Empire
As part of their 2024 Spring opera season, English Touring Opera staged The Rake’s Progress by Igor Stravinsky at the Hackney Empire. Conceived later on in Stravinsky’s life, when he was living in America, The Rake’s Progress was his one and only full-length opera. Drawing inspiration from a William Hogarth exhibition he had visited in Chicago, he got writing…
Spiritual awakening: Leon Bosch & Rebeca Omordia in concert and on disc
The African Concert Series was originally founded and curated by pianist Rebeca Omordia to shine a spotlight on African art music: the diverse work of African composers who, as the series website explains, create “a bridge between Western classical music and African traditional music”. Launched in 2019, the series has had a torrid infancy. After…
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