The Magic Flute review – dark, eclectic and disquieting
Grand theatre, Leeds James Brining’s new production with Opera North is a sometimes heavy-handed phantasmagoria that probes the dark heart of Mozart’s workJames Brining’s new production of The Magic...
View ArticleOpera, dull? Watching The Magic Flute is like drinking 10 cups of coffee
Australian director Barrie Kosky does for Mozart what Baz Luhrmann did for ShakespeareOne of the challenges facing opera makers is how to stage a three-hour production and make it relevant and...
View ArticleThe Marriage of Figaro returns to Royal Opera House with a twist
Male choice of Kangmin Justin Kim for role of Cherubino is a first in opera house’s history In 70 years there have been six productions and 347 performances of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at the...
View ArticleThe Marriage of Figaro review – zippy Mozart for the #metoo era with gender swap
Royal Opera House, LondonThis revival of David McVicar’s wonderful 2006 production sees an uneven cast and John Eliot Gardiner’s conducting sometimes too overbearingA good performance of Le Nozze di...
View ArticleDie Zauberflöte review – a visual feast of eccentricity
Glyndebourne, LewesThis magical, witty, irreverent production updates the action and politics to 1900s Vienna but still strikes some wrong notesNobody ever came out of a performance of Mozart’s The...
View ArticleHome listening: reimagining Mozart’s operatic career
Raphaël Pichon weaves a postmodern tapestry, and Iestyn Davies teams up with James Hall• Even great composers go through tricky patches. In the period before the great trilogy of Figaro, Don Giovanni...
View ArticlePeter Schreier obituary
German tenor renowned for his performances of the St John and St Matthew Passions by Bach and operas by MozartThe German tenor Peter Schreier, who has died aged 84, was not only an incomparable...
View ArticleBarry Tuckwell obituary | Barry Millington
Horn player who left the London Symphony Orchestra to become a leading soloist with a prolific recording careerWidely acclaimed as the finest horn player of his generation, Barry Tuckwell, who has died...
View ArticleMirella Freni obituary
Outstanding soprano in the great Italian operatic traditionGraceful, clear-voiced and expressive, the soprano Mirella Freni, who has died aged 84, began her long operatic career in lighter roles, such...
View ArticleVästerås Sinfonietta/Crawford-Phillips review – a force of nature
St George’s Bristol The Swedish orchestra may lack polish but their warm personality shone through in this programme of Mendelssohn, Dvořák, Brahms and MozartA programme whose theme was the force that...
View ArticleThe Marriage of Figaro review – superb singing in hilarious staging
Coliseum, LondonA simple yet effective conceit is one of the revelations in a production strong on witty detail and anarchic stylisationSometimes simple solutions really do work best. Joe Hill-Gibbins’...
View ArticleLucian Msamati on Amadeus: 'Colour-blind casting? I want you to see my colour'
The star of the National Theatre’s revival, streaming this month, talks about genius, unlocking characters and how Peter Shaffer’s play became an ‘orgy of artistic love’The director Michael Longhurst...
View ArticleMozart: where to start with his music
He was a child prodigy who excelled in every genre to which he turned his hand, his music combining melodic beauty and the most daring formal perfection – all coloured by his remarkable gift for...
View ArticleIn dialogue with Mozart: composer's violin brought back to life
Christoph Koncz has used gut-stringed baroque instrument to record Mozart’s violin concertosWhen he first dared ask the keepers of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s violin if he might be allowed to try it out,...
View ArticleMozart's Requiem: It's about life, not death
A performance of Mozart’s choral masterpiece marks English National Opera’s return to the Coliseum. Its artistic director explains why the composer’s last work, written as he drew his final breaths, is...
View ArticleThe Snow Ball by Brigid Brophy review – a swirling, sensual feast
This timely reissue of Brophy’s 1964 masterpiece transports us to a New Year’s Eve masquerade ball full of romance and eroticism Facing a holiday season without the usual parties is going to be tough,...
View ArticleLa Clemenza di Tito review – delight to be back, but modern-dress production...
Royal Opera House, LondonRichard Jones’s eagerly-anticipated new production of Mozart’s opera seria has moments of insight but overall too many incongruities, but there is much to enjoy musically,...
View ArticleThe Marriage of Figaro review – acute, witty and handsome, plus pom-poms
Opera Holland Park, LondonOliver Platt’s anachronistic take on Mozart’s comedy works well in OHP’s opening production, with superb ensemble performancesIf you go to Opera Holland Park this summer, you...
View Article‘They deserve a place in history’: music teacher makes map of female composers
Interactive tool features more than 500 women who are often forgotten in the classical music worldTwo siblings, both considered child prodigies, dazzled audiences across Europe together in the 18th...
View Article‘Danny Dyer should definitely be the next James Bond’: Philomena Cunk...
As the famed thinker prepares to publish her first encyclopedia of everything ever, she pontificates on Mozart, Norbit and moreDanny Dyer is probably the greatest actor of his generation. Born Danial...
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