Jim Pritchard

Lisette Oropesa’s Violetta makes this umpteeenth revival of the Royal Opera’s La traviata unmissable

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Verdi, La traviata: Soloists, Actors and Dancers, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Antonello Manacorda (conductor). Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 28.10.2021. (JPr)

Liparit Avetisyan (Alfredo) and Lisette Oropesa (Violetta) (c) Tristram Kenton

Read more

Mahler is the highlight of Marta Fontanals-Simmons and Sholto Kynoch’s memorable recital at Oxford

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Oxford Lieder Festival 2021 [4]: Marta Fontanals-Simmons (mezzo-soprano) and Sholto Kynoch (piano). Performed at St John the Evangelist, Oxford, 21.10.2021 and livestreamed by TallWall Media (directed by Simon Wall). (JPr)

Marta Fontanals-Simmons (mezzo-soprano) and Sholto Kynoch (piano)

Read more

Wigmore Hall’s In the footsteps of… was a beautifully curated, thought-provoking and inspiring programme

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom In the footsteps of…: Gweneth Ann Rand (soprano), Sarah Daramy-Williams (violin), Allyson Devenish (piano), Cathy Tyson (narrator). Livestreamed (Darius Weinberg director/producer) on 14.11.2021 from Wigmore Hall, London, and available until 13.11.2021. (JPr)

Gweneth Ann Rand (soprano)

Read more

Superb acting and singing as Phil Willmott and John Robinson mine a musical out of Lady Chatterley’s Lover

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Lady Chatterley’s Lover: a musical adaptation of the novel by D.H. Lawrence from Phil Willmott (book), John Robinson (music and lyrics), Mark Anderson (additional lyrics) and Bjorn Dobbelaere (orchestrations). Filmed at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre in June 2021 and available from 15 October to 21 November 2021 on Stream.Theatre. (JPr)

Georgia Lennon (Constance) and Michael Pickering (Mellors) (c) Mark Senior

Read more

With remarkable performances from Mattila and Grigorian, musically there is no weak link in Royal Opera’s new Jenůfa

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Janáček, Jenůfa: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Henrik Nánási (conductor). Livestreamed (directed by Rhodri Huw) from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 9.10.2021 and available now on OperaVision. (JPr)

Saimir Pirgu (Števa) and Karita Mattila (Kostelnička) (c) Tristram Kenton

Read more

Eclectic music programming celebrates the BBC SO’s Barbican Hall return after pandemic woes

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Symphony Orchestra’s A New Dawn: Ben Goldscheider (French horn), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo (conductor). Livestream (directed by Matthew Woodward) from Barbican Hall, London, 2.10.2021. (JPr)

Sakari Oramo conducts Ben Goldscheider (French horn) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (c) Mark Allan

Read more

Michael Spyres’s Florestan is the breakout performance in Cyril Teste’s new Fidelio for Paris’s Opéra Comique

by

FranceFrance Beethoven, Fidelio: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Ensemble Pygmalion / Raphaël Pichon (conductor). Performed by Opéra Comique on 1.10.2020 at the Salle Favart, Paris, and livestreamed (directed by François Roussillon) on ARTE Concert (available until 30.9.2022). (JPr)

Linard Vrielink (Jaquino), Mari Eriksmoen (Marzelline) and Siobhan Stagg (Leonore/Fidelio) (c) Stefan Brion

Read more

Paris Opera’s ‘Dudamel era’ begins and time will tell how his relationship with the ‘City of Love’ will develop

by

FranceFrance Gustavo Dudamel’s Concert Inaugural: Soloists, Chorus (chorusmaster: Ching-Lien Wu) and Maîtrise des Hauts de Seine (Children’s Choir of the Opéra national de Paris, director: Gaël Darchen), Orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris / Gustavo Dudamel (conductor). Filmed (directed by François-René Martin) at the Palais Garnier, Paris, 22.9.2021. (JPr)

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Clémentine Margaine (mezzo-soprano) and the Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris

Read more