Jim Pritchard

Lahav Shani and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra’s memorable Mahler Sixth

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NetherlandsNetherlands R. Strauss, Mahler: Chen Reiss (soprano), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Lahav Shani (conductor). Broadcast live on medici.tv (directed by Dick Kuijs) from De Doelen Concert Hall, Rotterdam, 16.2.2024. (JPr)

Lahav Shani conducts soprano Chen Reiss and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra © medici.tv

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R.I.P. Claire Seymour (1970-2024)

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It is with great sadness that we announce the recent sudden and unexpected death of Claire Seymour. After falling ill at the New Year and after a spell in hospital all seemed well and she was as active as ever working with students, marking exams, reviewing, researching and being an invaluable help to Gary Hoffman’s Opera Today and my Seen and Heard International.

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The Royal Ballet are on top form and Natalia Osipova is the ultimate dancer and actor as Manon

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon: Dancers of The Royal Ballet, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Koen Kessels (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Ross MacGibbon) from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 3.2.2024. (JPr)

Reece Clarke (Des Grieux) and Natalia Osipova (Manon) © Andrej Uspenski

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On medici.tv: an oddly programmed concert of Berlioz and Wagner from the Strasbourg Philharmonic

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FranceFrance Berlioz and Wagner: Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano), Michael Spyres (baritenor), Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg / John Nelson and Ludovic Morlot (conductors). Livestreamed on medici.tv (directed by Jean-Pierre Loisill) from the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, Strasbourg, France, 26.1.2024. (JPr)

John Nelson conducts the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra

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Angela Gheorghiu and Stefan Pop make the current Covent Garden La bohème revival something special

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Puccini, La bohème: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Evelino Pidò (conductor). Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 25.1.2024. (JPr)

(l-r) Andrey Zhilikhovsky (Marcello), Simona Mihai (Musetta), Michael Mofidian (Colline) and Angela Gheorghiu (Mimì) © Camilla Greenwell

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Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic usher in 2024 with some memorable Wagner

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GermanyGermany Wagner, Berliner Phiharmoniker Silvesterkonzert: Vida Miknevičiūtė (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Tobias Kehrer (bass), Berliner Philharmoniker / Kirill Petrenko (conductor). Directed by Hannah Dorn and livestreamed on the Digital Concert Hall from the Philharmonie Berlin, 31.12.2023, and now archived. (JPr)

Kirill Petrenko conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra © Monica Rittershaus

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Seen in cinemas: Dutch National Ballet’s Giselle with Olga Smirnova is conceived on a grand scale

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NetherlandsNetherlands Dutch National Ballet’s Giselle: Dancers of Dutch National Ballet, Dutch Ballet Orchestra / Ermanno Florio (conductor). Filmed (directed by Isabelle Julien) at the Dutch National Opera & Ballet. Amsterdam, on 26 and 29.10.2023 and released worldwide in cinemas only from 21.1.2024. (JPr)

Olga Smirnova (Giselle) and Jacopo Tissi (Albrecht) © Alex Gouliaev

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