Opera North
The Rite of Spring/Gianni Schicchi, Opera North review - unlikely but musically satisfying pairingSunday, 17 February 2019
Stravinsky acknowledged that his orchestra for The Rite of Spring was a large one because Diaghilev had promised him extra musicians (“I am not sure that my orchestra would have been as huge otherwise.”) It isn’t huge in Opera North’s production... Read more... |
Katya Kabanova, Opera North review – a grim taleMonday, 04 February 2019
A sad tale’s best for winter, and Opera North have returned to Janáček’s lyrical taken on a classic Russian drama of domestic abuse, guilt and suicide for this ingredient of their current season. Director Tim Albery and designer Hildegard Bechtler... Read more... |
'Bringing things to life is what opera is all about': Robert Howarth on a 'Magic Flute' with a differenceFriday, 18 January 2019
I’m here in Leeds at the end of five weeks of quite intense rehearsals for Opera North's new production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Our director James Brining and his amazing team (including assistant director Deborah Cohen, set and costume... Read more... |
Tosca, Opera North review - exciting update, strong on sonic thrillsMonday, 17 September 2018
Puccini’s Tosca isn’t a subtle work, and this, Opera North’s fourth production since the company’s founding in 1978, is occasionally too loud and crude. But it’s undeniably powerful. Edward Dick’s 2017 Hansel and Gretel left me a little... Read more... |
Kiss Me, Kate, Opera North, London Coliseum review - Cole Porter delivered in true company styleThursday, 21 June 2018
First palpable hit of the evening: a full orchestra in the pit under hyper-alert Opera North stalwart James Holmes, saxophones deliciously rampant. Second hit: they've got the miking of the voices right (very rare in West End shows). Third: the... Read more... |
Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill, Opera North, City Varieties Music Hall review - life as a cabaretMonday, 18 June 2018
Peer at the small print and it’s clear that Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill is actually a spruced-up repackaging of a show originally devised by Gene Lerner and arranger Newton Wayland, about whom Opera North’s programme tells us nothing. The... Read more... |
Un ballo in maschera, Opera North review - decent, no moreMonday, 12 February 2018
You’d expect a degree of mischief and bafflement in an opera about mistaken identity, closing with a scene set at a masked ball. But Tim Albery’s new Opera North Un ballo in maschera is confusing for the wrong reasons, its shortcomings all the more... Read more... |
Having a Verdi ball: conductor Richard Farnes on Opera North's upcoming productionThursday, 01 February 2018
Commentators have, over the years, variously described Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball) as all things to all people: Verdi’s Tristan und Isolde, Verdi’s masterpiece, Verdi’s Don Giovanni, a pure love poem, and much more. It seems to me to be one... Read more... |
Best of 2017: OperaTuesday, 26 December 2017
It may not have been the best year for eye-popping productions; even visionary director Richard Jones fell a bit short with a tame-ish Royal Opera Bohème, though his non-operatic The Twilight Zone is something else. Instead there's been time to... Read more... |
Osud/Trouble in Tahiti, Opera North - swings and roundabouts in a surprising double-billThursday, 12 October 2017
It was a topsy-turvy evening. Sometimes the things you expect to turn out best disappoint, while in this case the relatively small beer yielded a true "Little Great" of a production and the best singing in Opera North's latest double bill (subject... Read more... |
Cavalleria Rusticana/Trial by Jury, Opera North review - sombre triumph and pale frothThursday, 28 September 2017
Pairing Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana with Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury makes for a pleasingly schizoid evening in the latest of Opera North's The Little Greats series. Mascagni’s crashing final chords precede a longish interval, and when... Read more... |
Pagliacci/L’enfant et les sortilèges, Opera North review - off and on with the motleyMonday, 18 September 2017
The first two one-acters in Opera North’s season called The Little Greats were unveiled on Saturday. There are six in all, scheduled on a mix-and-match basis so Leeds opera-goers can choose their own tapas menu: grab one show, choose from various... Read more... |
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