Hulks Ahoy as CODA’s The Producers reopens the Ashcroft Playhouse
23/09/2019
United Kingdom Mel Brooks, The Producers (lyrics and music by Brooks and adapted by Brooks and Thomas Meehan from the 1967 film): Ensembles and musicians of CODA (Croydon Operatic and Dramatic Association) / Joshua Hickin (musical director and arranger). Ashcroft Playhouse at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. 20.9.2019. (JB)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s bittersweet Fleabag remains an ode to all modern women
14/09/2019
United Kingdom Fleabag (written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge): Directed for the screen by Tony Grech-Smith and broadcast live from the Wyndham’s Theatre, London, to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 12.9.2019. (JPr)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) (c) Matt Humphrey
A powerful Torch Song marks opening of London’s newest theatre
10/09/2019
United Kingdom Torch Song (by Harvey Fierstein): The Turbine Theatre, London, 6.9.2019. (CSa)
Matthew Needham (Arnold) and Dino Festcher (Ed) in Torch Song
(c) Mark Senior
Navigating Australia’s Secret River: tempestuous journey in pursuit of a tragic dream
02/09/2019
United Kingdom The Secret River by Kate Grenville (adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell): National Theatre, London, 28.8.2019. (CSa)
Sydney Theatre Company’s The Secret River (c) Ryan Buchanan
Puttin’ on the Ritz in Blackpool
13/07/2019
United Kingdom Various composers, Puttin’ on the Ritz: Grand Theatre, Blackpool, 6.7.2019. (MC)
Company of Puttin’ on the Ritz
In Somnium at Sadler’s Wells Neil and Katya Jones Dream the Impossible Dream
22/06/2019
United Kingdom SOMNIUM – A DANCER’S DREAM: Neil and Katya Jones, Charles Venn and company of dancers. Sadler’s Wells, London, 20.6.2019. (JPr)
Neil and Katya Jones in Somnium: A Dancer’s Dream
Renée Fleming Headlines The Light in the Piazza Which Proves To Be a Flawed Italian Travelogue
20/06/2019
United Kingdom The Light in the Piazza (book by Craig Lucas, lyrics and music by Adam Guettel): Company of The Light in the Piazza, Orchestra of Opera North / Kimberley Grigsby (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 19.6.2019. (JPr)
The Light in the Piazza (c) Dewynters London
Bernstein’s Masterwork Comes Alive in Chicago
03/06/2019
United States Bernstein, West Side Story: Soloists, Orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago / James Lowe (conductor). Civic Opera House, Chicago. 18.5.19 (JLZ)
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This joyous set of Beethoven's sonatas takes its place among the very best. [...]In its own way, the Seven Words of Christ is just as sublime as the Stabat Mater. [...]This sensitive, dynamic recording is a joy, and may even constitute a revelation. [...]The pair exhibits a refined style on these illuminating performances. [...]A deeply affecting experience that ought to win the opera many new admirers. [...]
This joyous set of Beethoven's sonatas takes its place among the very best. 
In its own way, the Seven Words of Christ is just as sublime as the Stabat Mater. 
This sensitive, dynamic recording is a joy, and may even constitute a revelation. 
The pair exhibits a refined style on these illuminating performances. 
A deeply affecting experience that ought to win the opera many new admirers. 
Mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre performs arias like a dove from heaven 
Carlos Alvarez makes the ideal Iago, and he toys with his victims like a cat with mice 
A heart attack on the rostrum couldn't stop him becoming the world's greatest living condu 
