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…

Screening of ‘Il Boemo’ at the 27th Made in Prague Festival sheds new light on forgotten composer, Josef Mysliveček who would become Mozart’s mentor.

The 27th Made in Prague Festival is a long-established arts festival showcasing Czech culture in London. New to the festival, I made my way to the Prince Charles Cinema in Soho last Saturday to attend a special gala screening of the film Il Boemo.  Il Boemo translates as The Boemian or The Czech, and relates to Czech musician, Josef Mysliveček,…

In Opera Holland Park’s Amico Fritz, the love duets rule

In an age where maximum noise and drama seems to be a prerequisite to an opera’s success, Amico Fritz might be regarded as the cuckoo in the nest. Its pastoral, gentle story-line is likely to pass most opera goers by. Opera Holland Park on the other hand is championing Mascagni’s work in a new production – presenting…