Final(?) ROH performances of Serban’s Turandot is splendidly sung, but not by those you might expect

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Puccini, Turandot (completed by Franco Alfano): Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Peter Jones) from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 22.3.2023. (JPr)

Yonghoon Lee (Calaf), Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Vitalij Kowaljow (Timur) © Marc Brenner

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Between two realms: Piotr Beczała stars in François Girard’s new Lohengrin at the Met

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Wagner, Lohengrin: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor). Directed for The Met: Live in HD by Gary Halvorson and seen at Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 18.3.2023. (JPr)

Final scene of François Girard’s Lohengrin © Marty Sohl/Met Opera

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Spousal abuse, racism and misogyny explored in Clint Dyer’s Othello production for the National Theatre

United KingdomUnited Kingdom National Theatre Live’s Othello: filmed live (directed by Matthew Amos) on the Lyttleton stage of the Royal National Theatre and shown at Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 23.2.2023. (JPr)

Paul Hilton (Iago) and System © Myah Jeffers

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Rick Wakeman revisits classic King Henry VIII and King Arthur albums at a triumphant Palladium concert

United KingdomUnited Kingdom The Return of the Caped Crusader – Rick Wakeman Live at the London Palladium: Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Hayley Sanderson (vocals), English Rock Ensemble (Dave Colquhoun [guitar and backing vocals], Adam Falkner [drums], Lee Pomeroy [bass and backing vocals], Adam Wakeman [keyboards, guitar, backing vocals], The English Chamber Choir (conductor: Guy Protheroe). London Palladium, 22.2.2023. (JPr)

The Return of the Caped Crusader – Rick Wakeman Live at the London Palladium © Lee Wilkinson

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The Royal Opera’s Barber of Seville revival is full of musical joie de vivre

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Rossini, The Barber of Seville: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Rafael Payare (conductor). Broadcast (directed for the screen by Peter Jones) from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 15.2.2023. (JPr)

Andrzej Filończyk (Figaro) and Aigul Akhmetshina (Rosina) © Bill Cooper

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