Così Fan Tutte is arguably one of the world’s most loved operas. Librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte and Mozart chart the emotional journey of two couples; Fiordiligi and Ferrando, Dorabella (Fiordiligi’s sister) and Guglielmo. They are engaged to be married and still have everything to learn about love. Don Alfonso, self-made philosopher, bets with the two fiancés, that…
An Illuminating Show of Post War British Art at the Barbican
With Postwar Modern. New Art in Britain 1945-1965, the Barbican reappraises the art that was created on these shores from the end of WW2 to 1965, a time when artists were grappling with the devastation of WW2 and its aftershocks. UK industrial cities had been badly bombed and the wholesale destruction of Nagasaki by the atomic bomb,…
Continental lift: Rebeca Omordia, ‘African Pianism’; the African Concert Series
This marvellous disc contains multitudes. The variety of sounds and styles packed into its generous 77 minutes showcases not only the infinite intrigue of a music too little-heard until now, but the lightly-worn virtuosity of Omordia herself. (Important note: for the facts/background underpinning this post, I’m indebted to Robert Matthew-Walker’s invaluable booklet notes which, in…
Viennese Winds Blow Through Elisabeth Leonskaja’s Mozart Sonatas
In the past few weeks I’ve been listening to Elisabeth Leonskaja’s Complete Mozart Piano Sonatas. I have now worked my way through six discs, eighteen sonatas and one fantasia. I love Mozart’s sonatas and especially his fantasia, but it must be said that one or two early sonatas come across as a little frothy. That said, this…
A Moving New Production of Cunning Little Vixen at ENO
Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen is a perplexing but masterful opera, full of darkness, yearning and joy. On the surface it is a fantastical story, that of a Vixen who is captured by a Forester and who escapes, after causing a minor Orwellian revolution amongst the hens. She falls for a Fox, and my apologies for the spoiler,…
Countertenor Orliński embraces film with Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater
On a wet February evening, I attend a cinematic event at London’s Soho Hotel. Countertenor, Jakub Jósef Orliński, fresh from his successes at the Royal Opera, is starring in a film of Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater. In the screening theatre, Orliński sits in the front row with an audience of journos, prs, record company execs behind him. …
Material worlds: ‘Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life’ at the Hepworth, Wakefield
As you can see from the first image below, this marvellous exhibition is about to close at the Hepworth. However, it rapidly gains new life as a touring show: first to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art from 9 April to 22 October 2022, then to Tate St Ives from 26 November 2022 to…
Louise Bourgeois Continues to Astonish and Fascinate with Woven Child at Hayward Gallery
Most people will have heard of and seen Louise Bourgeois’s giant spider, Maman .You couldn’t miss it in 2000, where it soared above visitors’ heads in the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern. Supported on slender legs of steel of over thirty feet in height, Maman, far from being a monster, was a symbol of maternity, protection, strength, and creation. Maman…
Kitchen-sink drama: Handel, ‘Theodora’, at the Royal Opera House
Handel’s ‘Theodora’ is an oratorio. In other (well, more) words, it’s a vocal/choral work that would normally have a plot at its core, but presented as a purely aural experience. Traditionally, oratorios would be sung in concert with no staging, movement, or action to speak of. The music must propel any narrative, drive every reaction,…
In ENO’s Bohème Conductor Ben Glassberg Breathes New Life into Puccini’s Score.
It has been a few years since I last saw La Bohème performed at ENO. In 2019, soprano Natalya Romaniw, sang a magnificent Mimi in that mournful timbre of hers, beautifully conveying the soul of Puccini’s ill-fated seamstress. For the 2022 season, soprano, Sinéad Campbell-Wallace has taken on the iconic role. Her bright-sounding soprano couldn’t be more…
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