Author Archives: John

Conductor, Nathalie Stutzmann; Director, Tobias Kratzer; Stage design, Rainer Sellmaier; Costumes, Rainer Sellmaier; Lighting, Reinhard Traub; Video, Manuel Braun. Landgraf Hermann, Günther Groissböck; Tannhäuser, Klaus Florian Vogt; Wolfram von Eschenbach, Markus Eiche; Walther von der Vogelweide, Siyabonga Maqungo; Elisabeth, Elisabeth Teige; Venus. Irene Roberts This is one of those Bayreuth productions that has gone fromContinue reading “Bayreuth Festival – Wagner, Tannhäuser. 16/8/24”

Conductor, Semyon Bychkov; Director, Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson; Stage design, Vytautas Narbutas; Costumes, Sibylle Wallum; Lighting, Sascha Zauner. Tristan, Andreas Schager; Marke, Günther Groissböck; Isolde, Camilla Nylund; Kurwenal, Olafur Sigurdarson; Melot, Birger Radde. Brangäne, Christa Mayer  Tristan is the Wagner work I have seen least in the last 7 years or so. I saw the last butContinue reading “Bayreuth Festival – Wagner, Tristan und Isolde. 15/8/24”

Conductor, Pablo Heras-Casado; Director, Jay Scheib; Stage design, Mimi Lien; Costumes, Meentje Nielsen; Lighting, Rainer Casper; Video, Joshua Higgason. Amfortas, Derek Welton; Titurel, Tobias Kehre; Gurnemanz, Georg Zeppenfeld; Parsifal, Andreas Schager; Klingsor, Jordan Shanahan; Kundry, Ekaterina Gubanova After a, by now almost normal, rather chaotic performance by DB I arrived in Bayreuth last night onlyContinue reading “Bayreuth Festival – Wagner, Parsifal. 14/8/24”

G. Williams Concert Overture; Sir Karl Jenkins Stravaganza  (BBC commission); Farrenc Overture No. 1; Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major. Jess Gillam soprano saxophone, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Nil Venditti conductor  This is a concert I went to because I had to be in London in the evening in order to be readyContinue reading “BBC Proms: Prom 32  – Beethoven , Jenkins, Farrenc, Williams. RAH, 12/8/24”

Erkki-Sven Tüür, Aditus; Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, ‘Emperor’; Bruckner Symphony No. 1 in C minor (1877 Linz version, ed. Nowak) Yunchan Lim piano, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi conductor I am trying, in my intensive July and August live concert listening, to pay particular attention to works I have scarcelyContinue reading “BBC Proms: Prom 14 – Beethoven, Bruckner and Tüür. RAH, 29/7/24”

Schoenberg Pelleas and Melisande; Zemlinsky The Mermaid. BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ryan Bancroft conductor This was a concert I was looking forward to – two massive late Romantic pieces with a huge orchestra. The Zemlinsky piece I have a recording of but the Schoenberg work I have only heard once over the radio, IContinue reading “BBC Proms: Prom 5 – Schoenberg and Zemlinsky. RAH, 22/7/24”

Due to train problems, I arrived at the venue for Pappano’s masterclass in a rush – the clock in the neighbouring church had just struck 3pm – and at the entrance I nearly crashed into Pappano and the accompanist popping out of the main door to get into the stage entrance at the side ofContinue reading “Sir Antonio Pappano Masterclass, BIF Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, 19/7/24 (and talking about his new book in Buxton Opera House)”

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier Sonata No. 3 in D,  Purcell, Suite No 4, Bach Cello Suite No 1, Francesco Barsanti, Sonata in C, Scarlatti, sonata in F, Nicholas Antoine Bergiron.  Claire Babington, baroque cello, Amanda Babington, violin, recorder, musette, and David Francis, harpsichord Baroque in the North has been developing strategies to improve accessibility toContinue reading “Baroque in the North: Edale Church, Derbyshire – 14/7/24”

Jane Burnell Gasparina; Dominic Mattos Apollonia; Jonah Halton Don Pelagio; Helen Maree Cooper Don Ettore; Toby Hession Conductor; Lysanne Van Overbeek Director; Elliott Squire Designer I’m reading Thayer’s Life of Beethoven at present – the first person to have systematically tracked through by personal interview all those who knew Beethoven and were still alive inContinue reading “Haydn, La Canterina. BIF, Buxton Pavilion, 11/7/24”

M Marais Pièces de Viole, Livre IV – Suite No. 1 in D minor; F Couperin Pièces de Viole – Suite No. 1 in E minor; M Marais Pièces de Viole, Livre IV – Suite No. 2 in D major This was, I guess, a chilling-out but not very inspiring way of spending a dampContinue reading “Samuel Ng and Kristina Watt: BIF, St John’s Church, Buxton, 11/7/24”