Theatre, Musicals, Broadcasts & Films

Reviews and articles of some events that are not Concerts, Opera, or Dance, and others that have been streamed, shown in the cinema or on TV

For Holy Week there is a fine Zurich St. Matthew Passion to be seen online soon

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SwitzerlandSwitzerland Bach: Jan Petryka (Evangelist), Milan Siljanov (Jesus), Hannah Morrison (soprano), Anke Vondung (alto), Konstantin Wolff (bass), Zürcher Sing-Akademie, Orchestra La Scintilla / Florian Helgath (conductor). Kirche Oberstrass, Zurich 27.3.2021. (JR)

Zürcher Sing-Akademie

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After a turbulent year, Dunedin Consort perform Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion online from Perth

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. S. Bach: Anna Dennis, Jessica Leary (sopranos), Jess Dandy, Judy Brown (altos), Andrew Tortise, David Lee (tenors), Matthew Brook, Benedict Nelson (basses), Dunedin Consort / John Butt (conductor). From Perth Concert Hall and streamed online as part of Perth’s Easter Festival of Classical Music, 27.3.2021. (SRT)

Dunedin Consort and soloists in Bach’s St Matthew Passion (c) Tommy Slack

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Gothenburg’s shining Siegfried gloriously surmounts the challenges of producing opera in a pandemic

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SwedenSweden Wagner, Siegfried: Soloists, Dancers, Gothenburg Opera Orchestra / Evan Rogister (conductor). Pre-recorded on Gothenburg Opera main stage for digital streaming only and premiered 26-28.3.2021. (NS)

Sofie Asplund (The Woodbird) & Daniel Brenna (Siegfried) (c) Lennart Sjöberg

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Dame Emma Kirkby and Friends beautifully perform a programme of high imagination and distinction

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom LIVE from London Spring – Abiding Love: Dame Emma Kirkby and Friends (Dame Emma Kirkby [soprano] with Toby Carr [lute/theorbo/guitar], Helen Charlston, Patricia Hammond [mezzo], Christopher Glynn [piano], Aileen Henry [baroque harp], Matt Redman [accordion, banjo, guitar, organ]). Livestreamed from the VOCES8 Centre, London, 14.3.2021. (CC)

Dame Emma Kirkby and Friends

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Barrie Kosky’s disappoiningly unfunny Munich Der Rosenkavalier is redeemed by some strong singing

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GermanyGermany Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Bavarian State Opera / Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). Livestreamed (directed by Henning Kasten) on Arte.tv (click here) from the National Theatre, Munich, 21.3.2021. (JPr)

Samantha Hankey (‘Mariandel’), Marlis Petersen (Marschallin) & Christof Fischesser (Ochs)

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Enjoyable adulterous antics from Grange Park Opera and their L’heure espagnole in a London antique clocks shop

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ravel, L’heure espagnole: Soloists, Chris Hopkins (music director/piano), Ognune Lively (brass), Tom Marshall (percussion). Filmed 23 – 27.2.2021 in venues in Kensington Church Street, London, and streamed by Grange Park Opera, West Horsley, 20.3.2021. (JPr)

Catherine Backhouse (Concepción)

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Conor Mitchell’s new opera for children is not without a dark side

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IrelandIreland Conor Mitchell’s The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children: Soloists, The Belfast Ensemble / Tom Brady (Conductor), Livestreamed from Belfast’s Lyric Theatre as part of 2021 Belfast Children’s Festival, 12.3.2021. (RB)

Conor Mitchell’s The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children (c) Neil Harrison

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Isata Kanneh-Mason mesmerises in Beethoven and there is masterly Sibelius from Elder and the Hallé

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Richard Strauss, Beethoven, Sibelius: Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Hallé / Sir Mark Elder (conductor). Recorded (directed by Jonathan Haswell) at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, available from 18.3 to 18.6.2021. (JPr)

Hallé and Sir Mark Elder (conductor)

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