Author Archives: John

The programme was: Ruth Gipps: Symphony No. 2 in B major, Thomas Adès: The Exterminating Angel Symphony, and Brahms 3. It’s staggering to think that just on Monday the CBSO would have been performing Rhinegold with BOC, and they performed this same concert in Birmingham on Wednesday evening. They must have had very little timeContinue reading “Gipps, Ades and Brahms: RAH BBC Proms, CBSO / Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla 5/8/21”

The programme was Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Respighi: Concerto gregoriano, and Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 in D major, ‘Reformation’. The RPO’s new chief conductor, Vasily Petrenko, was in charge, with Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji in the Respighi piece. This was Petrenko’s first concert in his new role with the RPOContinue reading “Vaughan Williams, Respighi, Mendelssohn: RAH BBC Proms, Royal Philharmonic / Petrenko 4/8/21”

The programme was Haydn Symphony No. 103 in E flat major ‘Drumroll’, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, and Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B flat major. The conductor was Ben Gernon and the soloist Elisabeth Brauss with the BBC Philharmonic. This was my first Prom in just over 2 years and itContinue reading “Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven: Royal Albert Hall (RAH) BBC Proms, BBC Philharmonic / Gernon 3/8/21”

This was an altogether enthralling and deeply engaging performance. The set was a circular stage with two ramps for entrances and exits in the middle of the Symphony Hall stalls, with only a few props – gold in pots, chairs and table and a model of Valhalla. The lighting was focused around giant stands, switched onContinue reading “The RhineGold – Birmingham Opera Company, Symphony Hall, 31/7/21”

My last visit to the Buxton Festival was a mixed affair – John Casken’s new work The Shackled King, a music drama based on the King Lear story, was the main ‘second half’ work, and with it in the first half a compilation called “Brunnhilde’s Dream”, a sequence of songs by Wagner, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann,Continue reading “The Shackled King / Brunnhilde’s Dream: Buxton Opera House (BIF), 23/7/21”

The programme was Rimsky-Korsakov’s ’The Tale of Tsar Saltan’ Suite;  Rachmaninov’s The Rock, and Stravinsky’s The Firebird: Suite (1945 compilation) This was an enjoyable concert with two relative rarities. All three pieces were in a sense in the business of telling stories, with lots of brilliant sounds, evocative but with nothing that really chilled theContinue reading “Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, and Stravinsky – Halle/Elder, Bridgewater Hall – 22/7/21”

Fleur Barron, the Singaporean-British mezzo who is clearly making a name for herself gave a very good lunchtime recital at the Buxton Festival. Entitled “Between Dark and Daylight”, it included works by Clara Schumann, Brahms, Ives, Dutilleux, Korngold, Cage, Chen Yi, Florence Price, Li Yinghai, Chinese Folksongs and Schubert. I didn’t have access to theContinue reading “Fleur Barron/Adrian Kelly – St. John’s Church, Buxton (BIF): 21/7/21”

This was a performance that had two contrasting aspects. It was very well sung and played by the Early Opera Company under Christian Curnyn.  All the singers – (Galatea – Anna Dennis; Acis – Samuel Boden; Damon / Coridon – Jorge Navarro Colorado; Polyphemus – Edward Grint, and Chorus – David de Winter) were strong,Continue reading “Acis and Galatea, Handel: Buxton Opera House/BIF – 20/7/21”

After a couple of weeks of seeing various, very worthy, but inevitably cramped, opera productions, with little money to spend on sets or costumes or concept, it was a bit of a relief and an excitement to experience a full scale all-stops-pulled major opera production, which Don Giovanni at Covent Graden definitely was. I thinkContinue reading “Don Giovanni, Mozart: ROHCG, 18/7/21”

This was a really up-lifting and fine performance which engaged everyone and was wonderfully heart-warming. I have heard this work twice before in live performance – a very good Glyndebourne production, which maybe was a bit too perfect in retrospect, but very beautiful to look at (and it may be that I had had tooContinue reading “The Cunning Little Vixen, Janacek: Opera Holland Park 17/7/21”