Jim Pritchard

Kaufmann is not the best thing about Konwitschny’s Vienna Don Carlos which stands the test of time

by

AustriaAustria Verdi, Don Carlos: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Vienna State Opera / Bertrand de Billy (conductor). 4.10.2020 performance (directed for TV by Dominik Kepczynski) and reviewed when streamed on 22.11.2020. (JPr)

Don Carlos – Jonas Kaufmann (Don Carlos), Igor Golovantenko (Rodrigue)
and Michele Pertusi (Philippe II)

Read more

It maybe a Weill but give Opera North’s The Seven Deadly Sins a chance if you can

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Weill, The Seven Deadly Sins: Soloists, Orchestra of Opera North / James Holmes (conductor). Livestreamed (directed by Jonathan Haswell) from Leeds Playhouse’s Quarry Theatre, 21.11.2020. (JPr)

Shelley Eva Haden (Anna II) & Wallis Giunta (Anna I) © Tristram Kenton

Read more

Musical splendours in a wonderful performance of Handel’s Ariodante livestreamed from the Royal Opera House

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Handel, Ariodante in Concert: Soloists, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Christian Curnyn (conductor). Livestream (directed for TV by Peter Jones) from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 20.11.2020. (JPr)

Chen Reiss (Ginevra), Gerald Finley (King of Scotland) & Paula Murrihy (Ariodante)

Read more

English National Opera’s deeply affecting Mozart Requiem is a matter of life and death

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Mozart, Requiem in D Minor: Elizabeth Llewellyn (soprano), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), Ed Lyon (tenor), and Gerald Finley CBE (bass-baritone). Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera / Mark Wigglesworth (conductor). Pre-recorded (6.11.2020) at the London Coliseum and broadcast on BBC Two on 14.11.2020. (JPr)

Elizabeth Llewellyn © Clive Barda

Read more

Ticciati, Rattle, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin bring musical solace to a corona-blighted city

by

GermanyGermany Vaughan Williams, Purcell, Birtwistle, Mahler: Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Staples (tenor), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Robin Ticciati and Sir Simon Rattle (conductors). Livestreamed (directed by Jörg Thomas Mohr) from Philharmonie Berlin. 7.11.2020. (JPr)

DSO’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Read more

Anna Pirozzi and Yusif Eyvazov were outstanding in Teatro Massimo’s concert performance of Manon Lescaut

by

ItalyItaly Puccini, Manon Lescaut (in concert form): Chorus (chorus master: Ciro Visco) and Orchestra of Teatro Massimo / Jader Bignamini (conductor). 21.10.2020 performance live-streamed (directed by Antonio Di Giovanni) from Teatro Massimo, Palermo. (JPr)

Teatro Massimo’s Manon Lescaut

Read more

Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak are memorable in Vienna’s Pagliacci on a sad night for the city

by

AustriaAustria Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera / Marco Armiliato (conductor). 2.11.2020 performance reviewed as a live stream (directed by Ella Gallieni) on 5.11.2020. (JPr)

Vienna State Opera’s Cavalleria rusticana

Read more

Guildhall School’s Triple Bill is an impressive, if thought-provoking, socially distanced achievement

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s Triple Bill: Guildhall School Orchestra / Dominic Wheeler (conductor). Live stream from the GSMD’s Silk Street Theatre and reviewed on 2.11.2020. (JPr)

Zanetto – Ella de Jongh (Silvia) and Jessica Ouston (Zanetto)

Read more