The Cunning Little Vixen, Royal Opera

Bryden's chewed-up homework unravels into something quite special

by Igor ToronyilalicSaturday, 20 March 2010

The Vixen and the lard-arse Hens: 'love and loss and the joys of being alive'photos Johan Persson/ROH

I have no compunction laying into vastly overrated composers, crazily overpaid conductors or lazily over-employed directors. I feel slightly more guilty doing the same to struggling singers or musicians. But a cast of tiny children dressed up as bunnies? Now, come on, even I draw the line somewhere. Sort of.

Rodelinda, The English Concert, Bicket, Saffron Hall review - perfect team helps us stay the long Handel course Saffron Hall celebrates its 10th anniversary in the greatest possible style

Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni, Royal College of Music review - a modest one-acter overloaded Good young singers get more opportunities than the actual work offers

Jephtha, Royal Opera review - uncomfortable sacrifice oratorio not seismic enough Sobriety and darkness eclipse Handel's dramatic vividness, despite strong performances

theartsdesk at Wexford Festival Opera - four operas and a recital in one crazy day Youth takes the comedy award in fringe delights alongside a well-done schlocky rarity

theartsdesk in Ukraine - Stankovych's 'Psalms of War' at the Lviv National Opera A powerful new work written in blood from the inside

Un ballo in maschera, Chelsea Opera Group, Cadogan Hall review - Italianate vitality, if not much finesse Broad brush strokes, but here was a world-class Verdi heroine in the making

La Rondine, Opera North review - rehabilitation for a Puccini damp squib? The romantic nostalgia of a world that vanished forever

Masque of Might, Opera North review - a tale of ecological virtue Pountney plunders Purcell to make the greenest show in a green season

Iolanthe, English National Opera review - still gorgeous but ever so slightly less funny than before Not all the cast changes are gains in revival of Cal McCrystal's funny and beautiful G&S

Faust, Irish National Opera review - world-class singing turns the musical-dramatic screw Fabulous principals and some good ideas to elevate Gounod's old-fashioned melodrama

Falstaff, Opera North review - going green and having fun Verdi’s comic masterpiece with a retro feel of its own

First Person: Director Sir David Pountney on creating a new 'Masque of Might' from the music of Purcell Launching Opera North’s Green Season with a climate sceptic as villain