It’s on occasions like this that the star-rating system runs into irreconcilable difficulties. I honestly cannot remember a time when musical and theatrical values were in such total divergence. The Royal Opera’s long-overdue first staging of Dvorak’s late masterpiece Rusalka is an incomprehensible travesty – hideously designed (Barbara Ehnes and Anja Rabes) and ineptly directed … [Read More]
Edward Seckerson
Reviews, Blogs, Podcasts
Reviews, Podcasts and Blogs
Classical music, Opera and Musical Theatre reviews
Monthly Archives: February 2012
Dvorak “Rusalka”, Royal Opera House
Tagged with: bryan hymel, camilla nyland, dvorak, jossi wieler, royal opera house, rusalka, sergio morabito, yannick nézet-séguin
Posted in Reviews
Posted in Reviews
Adams “The Death of Klinghoffer”, English National Opera
The defining moment in John Adams’ opera – and Tom Morris’ staging of it – comes right at the top of a long and not unproblematic evening. And it’s a moment that should give pause for even those who huff and puff before seeing and experiencing. A chorus of Palestinian exiles dissolves into a chorus … [Read More]
Tagged with: alice goodman, english national opera, john adams, the death of klinghoffer, tom morris
Posted in Reviews
Posted in Reviews
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Elder, Royal Festival Hall
Such is Berlioz’ persuasive theatricality that even when he is rearranging Shakespeare one is inclined to ask not what the Bard is doing for him but rather what he is doing for the Bard. His unprecedented Symphonie Dramatique Roméo et Juliette doesn’t so much re-enact but reflect on the unfolding drama and the joy of … [Read More]
Tagged with: berlioz, mark elder, orchestra of the age of enlightenment, romeo et juliette
Posted in Reviews
Posted in Reviews
Marc-André Hamelin, Wigmore Hall
There is really very little that Marc-André Hamelin can’t or won’t do on or with a piano and he did most of it in this characteristically supersonic recital – including one wholesale assault on the Wigmore Steinway’s bottom octave with his fists. You can blame Villa-Lobos for that. Risky if you’ve just played Stockhausen and … [Read More]
Tagged with: haydn, liszt, marc-andre hamelin, stockhausen, villa-lobos, wigmore hall
Posted in Reviews
Posted in Reviews
London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Nézet-Séguin, Royal Festival Hall
Bruckner’s unfinished final symphony – the 9th – poses many questions, none more perplexing than what might have been in terms of its absent finale.
There are those who insist that the great Catholic symphonist had completely sketched and all but scored the final movement – but attempts to stitch together a performing version have … [Read More]
Tagged with: bruckner, london philharmonic choir, london philharmonic orchestra, yannick nézet-séguin
Posted in Reviews
Posted in Reviews
Sting discusses Symphonicities with Edward Seckerson
The location is Sting’s beachside house in Malibu the morning after the night before: another night, another venue – the Hollywood Bowl – another three-hour concert of his songs.
That’s concert with a capital “C” because this time Sting has brought along more than just a few of his favourite musicians to join him, he’s … [Read More]
Posted in Podcasts
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