SINCE 1999 A LIVE REVIEW SITE FOR OPERA, BALLET, CONCERTS, THEATRE , BROADCASTS AND FILMS
United Kingdom Wagner, The Jonas Kaufmann Residency: Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Karita Mattila (soprano), Eric Halfvarson (bass), London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor). Barbican Hall, London. 8.2.2017. (JPr)
United Kingdom Cilea, Adriana Lecouvreur: Soloists, dancers, chorus and orchestra of The Royal Opera / Daniel Oren (conductor). Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. 7.2.2017. (JPr)
United Kingdom Verdi, Rigoletto: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera / Sir Richard Armstrong (conductor). London Coliseum, London, 4.2.2017. (JPr)
United Kingdom Verdi, Il trovatore: Soloists, chorus and Royal Opera House Orchestra / Richard Farnes (conductor). Directed for the screen by Bridget Caldwell and broadcast from the Royal Opera House to Odeon Cinema, Covent Garden, London. 31.1.2017. (JPr)
United Kingdom Beethoven – Fidelio (semi-staged performance): Soloists, Simon Williams and Helen Ryan (narrators), London Voices, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski. Royal Festival Hall, London 21.1.2017. (JPr)
United Kingdom Adolphe Adam, Giselle: Dancers of English National Ballet, English National Ballet Philharmonic / Gavin Sutherland (conductor). London Coliseum, London. 11.1.2017. (JPr)
United States Verdi, Nabucco: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera / James Levine (conductor). Broadcast live to the Odeon Cinema, Chelmsford, Essex, from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, 7.1.2017. (JPr)
Fighting Back From What Life Throws At You And Inspiring Others: Jim Pritchard Interviews The Soprano Elisabeth Meister
One of the highlights of the recent concert performance of Die Walküre for the Saffron Opera Group was Elisabeth Meister’s wonderful Sieglinde. Peter Reed in Opera magazine described how ‘gathering depth and brilliance’ she ‘built towards an orchestra-surfing “O hehrstes Wunder!” of pulverizing grandeur’. On this site I said she just ‘got better and better’ and how ‘Meister is an intelligent singer who knows how to project her voice, and she achieved extraordinary heights of passion in Act III without pushing the voice beyond its limits.’ (For full review click here.) I also mentioned how Elisabeth was – with this performance – returning to singing after something of a hiatus to her singing career, which was set to have a meteoric rise after leaving the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme. Elisabeth has a remarkable – and inspirational – story to tell which involves losing and regaining her singing voice.