tue 05/08/2025

David Nice

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Bio
The classical music and opera editor of theartsdesk, David writes, lectures and broadcasts on music. A former music critic for The Guardian and The Sunday Correspondent, he has made regular appearances on BBC Radio 3, not least in the long-running series Building a Library. He has written short studies on Elgar, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and the history of opera, and is currently working on the second volume of his Prokofiev biography for Yale University Press. He runs two Zoom lecture series, Opera in Depth on Mondays and a symphonies course on Thursdays.

Articles By David Nice

Brahms Piano Concertos, Tsoy, Philharmonia, Emelyanychev, Bold Tendencies - rich epic mastery in concrete surroundings

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CBSO, Gražinytė-Tyla, BBC Proms review - expectations teased, seldom fulfilled

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RhineGold, Birmingham Opera Company, Symphony Hall review - music-drama at the highest level

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Luisa Miller, Glyndebourne review – small-scale tragedy, big emotions

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First Night of the Proms, Hyde, BBCSO, Stasevska review - levitational ecstasies

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Opera in Song, Opera Holland Park review – world-class singers in a brilliant recital triptych

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Le Comte Ory, Garsington Opera review - high musical style and broad dramatic comedy

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Jette Parker Young Artists Summer Performance, Royal Opera review – breathtaking young talent

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L'amico Fritz, Opera Holland Park review - slow-burning love, Italian style

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East Neuk Festival 2021 / Benjamin Baker, Fidelio Orchestra Café review – singing in the rain

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The Cunning Little Vixen, Opera Holland Park review - imagine the forest, enjoy the music-making

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Wonderful Town, Quick Fantastic, Opera Holland Park review - everybody's swinging it

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A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Grange Festival review - heroic comedy in hard times

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Tenebrae, Short, Saffron Hall review - from dark shadows to bright heavens

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BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021 Final, BBC Four review – an embarrassment of vocal riches

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Ivan the Terrible, Grange Park Opera review - from tsar to Stalin in five lopsided scenes

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Alison Spittle, Monkey Barrel ★★★

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Folkestone Triennial 2025 - landscape, seascape, art lovers...

A rare cloud form envelopes the headland and to the east and the west Folkestone is cut off from the known world. This mist shortens...

Edinburgh Fringe 2025 reviews - Rhys Darby / Alex Stringer

Rhys Darby, Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★

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