SINCE 1999 A LIVE REVIEW SITE FOR OPERA, BALLET, CONCERTS, BROADCASTS, AND THEATRE
Met Stars Live in Concert – 12 concerts from 18 July to 19 December
In a Zoom press conference, The Metropolitan Opera unveiled its plans for an upcoming series of 12 concerts featuring some of opera’s greatest international stars.
Jonas Kaufmann review click here
Renée Fleming review click here
Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak review click here
On 4 March 2020 I went to Symphony Hall, Birmingham to hear the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the CBSO Chorus give a fine performance of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem conducted by the orchestra’s charismatic Osborn Music Director, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (review). Though the Coronavirus alarm bells were ringing ever more loudly by that point, little did I imagine that this would be the last time that I would be able to hear the CBSO during their 2019/20 season. I had plans to review several more of their concerts, most notably their planned performance of Britten’s War Requiem on 20 June. Not long after that Brahms concert, though, the UK was put into lockdown and the orchestra was obliged to cancel future concerts on an incremental basis, including a 12-concert tour of Germany and Austria. Eventually, on 30 April, they bowed to the inevitable and cancelled the remainder of the season.
The Longborough Festival Opera has launched a podcast series that will feature conversations with many of opera’s biggest stars. For more information about LFO’s podcasts click here.
The company has released four episodes to this point, with three of them focused on Wagner’s Ring cycle.
In the first, journalist Richard Bratby, Longborough music director Anthony Negus, and bass-baritone Paul Carey Jones talk about Wotan’s journey through the tetralogy.
In a second episode, Writer and librettist Sophie Rashbrook, soprano Lee Bisset, and historian Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough analyse the role of women in the cycle.
The third installment features a conversation on The Cunning Little Vixen hosted by Richard Bratby.
Finally, in the fourth installment, Opera director and librettist Sir David Pountney and Longborough’s artistic director Polly Graham delve into the comedic aspects of Wagner’s magnum opus
Longborough artistic director Polly Graham notes: ‘What we hope to achieve from this podcast is a chance to open up some of the amazing works we had programmed for 2020, and to celebrate the thinking of the artists we work with. The lockdown has been hugely challenging for the performing arts, but it has given us the opportunity to think creatively about different experiences we can still offer audiences. We miss our audiences so much and cannot wait to connect with them again through live theatre and music. In the meantime, we hope this podcast will continue to feed their imagination. We are so grateful for their continued support at such a challenging time.’
The Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) has given its 2020 Award for Best New Opera to composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist Tazewell Thompson for Blue.
For the first time in its 60+ year history, Lincoln Center is celebrating Pride by illuminating its plaza with a rainbow design and by flying the Rainbow Flag in front of its campus. For the rest of June, the installation acknowledges the histories, struggles and contributions of LGBTQIA+ communities and celebrates the full spectrum of queer identity.
Reposted in part tribute to the passing of Dame Vera Lynn at 103 I was in my first decade during the Second World War. Two voices over the radio made me reach for the off switch: Vera Lynn and Kathleen Ferrier. Both sounded to my child’s ears as though they were at a funeral, whatever … Read more
Lockdown entertainment doesn’t come better than this.
The BBC is to broadcast the Royal Opera House’s first post-lockdown performance across TV and radio later this month.
The concert, which will take place without a live audience, is scheduled for 13 June, hosted by the venue’s director of music Antonio Pappano.
It will feature a dance premiere by Wayne McGregor, resident choreographer of The Royal Ballet, as well as music by Britten, Handel and Butterworth.
Radio 3 will air the show on 15 June, with TV highlights later in the month.