Jim Pritchard

The Royal Ballet are on great form in Wheeldon’s phantasmagorical Alice’s Adventures, but it’s too long

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Dancers of The Royal Ballet, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Koen Kessels (conductor). Directed for the screen by Ross MacGibbon and seen at Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 15.10.2024. (JPr)

William Bracewell (The Knave of Hearts) and Francesca Hayward (Alice) © Alice Pennefather

Read more

Barlett Sher’s Tales of Hoffmann revival at the Met loses the emotional core of this complex opera

by

United StatesUnited States Offenbach, Les contes d’Hoffmann: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera / Marco Armiliato (conductor). Broadcast Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 5.10.2024. (JPr)

Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (Nicklausse), Benjamin Bernheim (Hoffmann), and Christian Van Horn (Lindorf) © Karen Almond/Met Opera

Read more

A dynamic ensemble cast makes Cluedo 2 overcome its leaden start

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Maurice Gran and Laurence Marks’s Cluedo 2: Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, 17.9.2024. (JPr)

[l-r] Ellie Leach (Miss Scarlett), Edward Howells (Professor Plum), Gabriel Paul (Reverend Green), Hannah Boyce (Mrs Peacock), Dawn Buckland (Mrs White) and Jason Durr (Colonel Mustard)

Read more

Saffron Opera Group’s Meistersinger for its 10th anniversary was a triumph over adversity

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Soloists, Saffron Opera Group Chorus (chorus director: James Davey), Saffron Opera Group Orchestra / Michael Thorne (conductor). Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden, Essex, 15.9.2024. (JPr)

Saffron Opera Group’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (final scene) © Sara Platt

Read more

Siobhan Stagg steps in as Susanna and is the undoubted star of David McVicar’s Marriage of Figaro revival

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro): Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Royal Opera / Julia Jones (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Rhodri Huw) to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, from Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 10.9.2024. (JPr)

David McVicar’s The Marriage of Figaro Act I © Clive Barda

Read more