Strauss
Damrau, BRSO, Jansons, Barbican review - broad and passionate StraussMonday, 28 January 2019
There is no doubting Diana Damrau’s star power. She is not a demonstrative performer, and her voice is small, but the sheer character of her tone, and the passion she invests, make every line special. She is not one to over-sentimentalise either, so... Read more... |
Sophie Bevan, Philharmonia, Rouvali, RFH review - an Alpine blazeFriday, 07 December 2018
With eyes swivelled towards who'll take over from Esa-Pekka Salonen as the Philharmonia's Principal Conductor in 2021, two of the strongest possibilities are to be found within the orchestra's masthead of associates. Another Finn, Santtu-Matias... Read more... |
Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – pictorial, dramatic powerFriday, 26 October 2018
Sir Mark Elder’s first concert in the Hallé Thursday series for 2018-19 was on clearly mapped Hallé territory – Richard Strauss and Elgar. They have a reputation, and a tradition, of playing these composers’ music very well. They’ve already recorded... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Stockholm: the Birgit Nilsson Prize unites two great Wagnerian sopranosSaturday, 20 October 2018
Why are great Wagnerian singers the most down-to-earth and collegial in the world of opera? Perhaps you have to be to master and sustain the biggest roles in the business, ones which can't be performed in isolation, and a strong constitution helps,... Read more... |
Hallé, Gardner, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – drama and humanityMonday, 15 October 2018
Edward Gardner was back amongst friends when he opened the Hallé’s Thursday series concerts. This was the place where he made his mark, as the Manchester orchestra’s first ever assistant conductor (and Youth Orchestra music director), and he’s been... Read more... |
Salome, English National Opera review - a not so terrible stillnessSaturday, 29 September 2018
Sibling incest among the symbolic clutter of the Royal Opera Ring on Wednesday, last night necrophilia and a bit more incest – mother and daughter this time, courtesy of the director's imagination – in a stone-cold ENO Salome. Adena Jacobs'... Read more... |
Prom 21, BBC Scottish SO, Volkov review - horncalls and mountainscapesTuesday, 31 July 2018
This concert was inspired by the huge scale of the Albert Hall. The three works all evoke spacious vistas, through their expansive textures, echo effects and horn calls. Mozart, Haas and Strauss made for a diverse programme though, the three works... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Sibelius, Strauss, Bernstein the PianistSaturday, 28 July 2018
Sibelius: Finlandia, The Swan of Tuonela, En Saga, The Oceanides BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thomas Søndergård (Linn)Earlier releases in Thomas Søndergård’s ongoing Sibelius cycle were marred by indifferent engineering, so it’s nice to report... Read more... |
Ariadne auf Naxos, Opera Holland Park - stylish staging, world-class singingWednesday, 18 July 2018
"When the new god approaches, we surrender, struck dumb". Especially if, for the singer of those words, popular entertainer Zerbinetta, the “new god” takes the shape of same-sex love. Director and designer Antony McDonald locates the real “mystery... Read more... |
Ariadne auf Naxos, Longborough Festival review - appetising energy and witSaturday, 14 July 2018
Much as I love Strauss’s Ariadne in its final form, I have a sneaking nostalgia for the original version (attached to Hofmannsthal’s adaptation of Molière’s Le bourgeois gentilhomme), which had Zerbinetta and her companions popping up after the... Read more... |
Capriccio, Garsington Opera review - a classy evening with words and musicMonday, 04 June 2018
Like the comedies of Mozart – the genius the artistic milieu depicted in Capriccio seems to be waiting for, if its original 1770s setting is observed – the more conversational operas of Richard Strauss depend far more than one often realises on... Read more... |
Der Rosenkavalier, Glyndebourne - detailed acting, great singingMonday, 21 May 2018
If Hugo von Hofmannsthal's libretto for Richard Strauss in their joint "comedy for music" is the apogee of elaborately referenced dialogue and stage directions in opera, Richard Jones's realisation - for all that it throws out much of the original... Read more... |
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