Author Archives: John

Keri-Lynn Wilson, Conductor; David Alden, Director; Charles Edwards, Set Designer; Jon Morrel, Costume Designer; Adam Silverman, Original Lighting Designer. Jennifer Davis, Jenufa; Susan Bullock, Kostelnicka; Richard Trey Smagur, Laca; John Findon, Steva; Fiona Kimm, Grandmother; Darren Jeffery, Mill Foreman; Freddie Tong, Mayor; Madeleine Shaw, Mayor’s Wife It was fascinating to experience a theatrical version ofContinue reading “Janacek, Jenufa – ENO: 20/3/24”

Wagner: Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries and Wotan’s Farewell and Magic Fire Music; Huldigungsmarsch; Das Rheingold: Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge; Götterdammerung: Prologue: Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey; Act I: Duet; Act III: Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Music, Brünnhilde’s Immolation and Finale; Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Prelude to Act I and Was duftet dochContinue reading “Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, V. Petrenko, Wagner extracts: Royal Albert Hall, 13/3/24”

Bruckner Symphony no 8; Halle Orchestra, Mark Elder As I have said elsewhere in this blog, I have been lucky to hear several very fine Bruckner 8s live over the years. This performance was the equal, at the very least, of nearly all of them, as I experienced it. Astonishingly, this run of performances withContinue reading “The Big Bruckner Weekend, Glasshouse, Gateshead    2/3/24 – Bruckner 8, Halle Orchestra”

Bruckner Mass No. 3 ‘Great’: Royal Northern Sinfonia; Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia; Durham University Choral Society. Thomas Zehetmair conductor. Elizabeth Watts soprano; Hannah Hipp mezzo-soprano; Thomas Atkins tenor; Mark Stone baritoneThe Big Bruckner Weekend involved not only two concerts but also the Chorus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia singing a selection of Bruckner’s motetsContinue reading “The Big Bruckner Weekend, Glasshouse, Gateshead    2/3/24 – Bruckner Mass”

Brahms, Violin Concerto; Shostakovich Symphony No 4. Sir Simon Rattle conductor; Isabelle Faust violin; London Symphony Orchestra This was a very generously planned concert. It is ages and ages since I sat down and listened intently to the Brahms concerto. My abiding memory from my teenage years of listening to this work is of IdaContinue reading “LSO, Rattle – Brahms/Shostakovich. Barbican 29/2/24”

Director, Tim Albery; Set Designer, Michael Levine; Costume Designer. Constance Hoffman; Lighting Designer, David Finn; Movement, Philippe Giraudeau; Conductor, Henrik Nánási. Cast: The Dutchman, Bryn Terfel; Senta, Elisabet Strid; Daland, Stephen Milling; Erik, Toby Spence; Mary, Kseniia Nikolaieva; Steersman, Miles Mykkanen I saw this production in 2015, conducted by Andris Nelsons with, as this time,Continue reading “Wagner, Der Fliegende Hollander (dress rehearsal):ROHCG  27/2/24”

Britten Sinfonia, Guy Johnston cello: Beethoven Grosse Fuge Op.133; Bartók Divertimento for String Orchestra; Tavener The Protecting Veil This, by contrast to the previous concert, did not seem to be a clear model of coherent programming. Other than the fact that all the works are focused on the use of a string chamber orchestra, IContinue reading “Britten Sinfonia – Beethoven, Bartok, Tavener; Bridgewater Hall 20/2/24”

Clemens Schuldt conductor, Siobhan Stagg soprano, Markus Butter baritone. Hallé Choir;  Strauss Metamorphosen; Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem As I may have said somewhere else on this blog, the Brahms Requiem is one of the very few pieces of music I have actually sung in live performance, with St John’s College Music Society at Cambridge beforeContinue reading “Halle Orchestra, Schuldt – R,Strauss/Brahms; Bridgewater Hall 15/2/24”

Anton Bruckner Symphony No 9 (Ed Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs); Te Deum (Ed Ernst Herttrich 2015). Performers – London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor; Lucy Crowe soprano; Anna Stéphany mezzo-soprano; Robin Tritschler tenor; Alexander Tsymbalyuk bass I was hoping to have gone to a very interesting Halle concert before going down to London for thisContinue reading “LSO, Stutzmann, Bruckner – Barbican, 11/2/24”

Haydn String Quartet In G Minor, Op. 20 No. 3; Shostakovich String Quartet No. 7 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 108; Britten 3 Divertimenti For String Quartet; Danish Folk Music (‘Wood works’) This was an interesting programme, though I am not sure an entire second half of Danish re-imagined folk music quite worked – toContinue reading “Danish String Quartet: Stoller Hall, Manchester – 29/1/24”