Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Longborough delivers a magical Ring to conclude five years of diligent planning

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Longborough Festival Opera 2024 [1] – Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen: Soloists, Longborough Community Chorus, Longborough Festival Orchestra / Anthony Negus (conductor), Longborough, Cotswolds, 4, 5. 7 & 9.7.2024. (CP)

Paul Carey Jones (The Wanderer) and Bradley Daley (Siegfried) in Siegfried © Matthew Williams-Ellis

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La tragédie de Carmen was a captivating evening of entertaining music theatre at Buxton

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Bizet, La tragédie de Carmen (after Carmen by Bizet and Mérimée. Reimagined by Peter Brook using libretto by Jean-Claude Carrière and music score by Marius Constant): Soloists, Northern Chamber Orchestra / Iwan Davies (conductor). Buxton International Festival, Derbyshire, 9.7.2024. (MC)

Niamh O’Sullivan (Carmen) and Elgan Llŷr Thomas (Don José) © Genevieve Girling

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Nicoletta Manni and Reece Clarke excel in MacMillan’s L’histoire de Manon at Milan’s La Scala

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ItalyItaly Kenneth MacMillan’s L’histoire de Manon: Dancers and Orchestra of La Scala Theatre Ballet / Paul Connelly (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Stefania Grimaldi) from La Scala, Milan, 8.7.2024. (JPr)

Nicoletta Manni (Manon) and Reece Clarke (Des Grieux)

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This Aix-en-Provence production quietly, powerfully rethought and reimagined Madama Butterfly

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FranceFrance Festival d’Aix-en-Provence [1] – Puccini, Madama Butterfly: Soloists, Lyon Opera Chorus (chorus master: Benedict Kearns), Lyon Opera Orchestra / Daniele Rustoni (conductor). Théâtre de l’Archeveché, Aix-en-Provence, 8.7.2024. (MB)

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024: Madama Butterfly © Ruth Walz

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An uplifting, small-scale production of The Boatswain’s Mate at Buxton was a real treat

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Buxton International Festival 2024 [1] – Ethel Smyth, The Boatswain’s Mate: Soloists, Chorus and Instrumental Trio / Rebecca Warren (direction). Buxton International Festival, Pavilion Arts Centre, Derbyshire, 8.7.2024. (MC)

[l-r] Rebecca Warren (piano), Elizabeth Findon (Mrs Waters) and Theo Perry (Ned Travers) © Genevieve Girling

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Visually demanding and musically convincing Die Walküre in Saarbrücken

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GermanyGermany Wagner, Die Walküre: Soloists, Chorus of Saarländisches Staatstheater. Saarländisches Staatsorchester / Stefan Neubert (conductor). Saarländisches Staatstheater, Saarbrücken, 29.6.2024. (DMD)

Aile Asszonyi (centre front, Brünnhilde) and Thomas Johannes Mayer (right, Wotan) © Martin Kaufhold

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A delightful performance of The Fairy Queen by the Armonico Consort and Players in Thaxted

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Thaxted Festival 2024 [3] – Purcell, The Fairy Queen, Z 629: Oz Clarke (narrator), Eloise Irving, Hannah Fraser Mackenzie, Laura Moretto (sopranos), William Towers (alto), Matthew Pochin (tenor), Robert Davies (bass), Armonico Consort & Baroque Players / Christopher Monks (harpsichord / director). Thaxted Parish Church, 6.7.2024. (CC)

Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at the Thaxted Festival 2024

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