United Kingdom Verdi, Rigoletto: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera / Pietro Rizzo (conductor). Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 21.9.2024. (GPu)
Adele Thomas’s powerful and passionate Rigoletto for the beleaguered WNO
Glyn Pursglove
A student production relishes the subversive energy of Bizet’s Doctor Miracle with considerable vigour
United Kingdom Bizet, Doctor Miracle: Soloists of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama / Michael Pollock (piano). Dora Stoutzker Hall, Cardiff. 2.7.2024. (GP)
A delightful, poignant and thought-provoking Penarth lunchtime Schubertiade
United Kingdom Penarth Chamber Music Festival – Schubert: Katharine Dain (soprano), James Gilchrist (tenor), Ben Goldscheider (horn), Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano), Ágnes Langer (violin), Robert Plane (clarinet). Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, 29.6.2024. (GP)
Baroque joy and invention in an exhilarating concert by Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque
United Kingdom Various: Rachel Podger (violin), Brecon Baroque (Marcin Światkiewicz [harpsichord] and Toby Carr [theorbo]). Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, 14.4.2024. (GPu)
WNO’s bold and innovative Death in Venice explores its ambiguous depths (and heights)
United Kingdom Britten, Death in Venice: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera / Leo Hussain (conductor), Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 7.3.2024. (GPu)
A concert full of pleasant surprises with Sean Shibe and Sinfonia Cymru something like their very best
United Kingdom Various: Sean Shibe (acoustic and electric guitars), Sinfonia Cymru. Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, 25.2.2024. (GPu)
WNO’s staging left lots to be desired, though in musical terms Così fan tutte was largely pleasurable
United Kingdom Mozart, Così fan tutte: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera / Tomáš Hanus (conductor). Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre, 24.2.2024. (GPu)
Lortie’s sensitive and perceptive interpretations of music by Fauré and some who studied with him
United Kingdom Various: Louis Lortie (piano). Dora Stoutzker Hall, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, 4.2.2024. (GPu)
