Tag Archives: Nicky Spence

Composer: Bohuslav Martinů Director: Christopher Alden Conductor: Garry Walker Reviewer: Dawn Smallwood Martinů’s The Greek Passion, a new production, marks the opening of Opera North’s autumn season.  Based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ text, it was written over 60 years ago and its score, albeit heavily revised, made its debut in Switzerland in 1961.  However, due to the themes’ relevance, Aleš Březina’s ...

Conductor: Adrian Lucas Reviewer: Clare White Raymond Gubbay’s Christmas season kicks off in spectacular style at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham with its annual classic carol concert. Traditional festive favourites mixed with rarer Yuletide treasures and sing-a-long standards are performed by the sublime City of Birmingham Choir, accompanied by the London Concert Orchestra and led by conductor Adrian Lucas. One ...

Conductor: John Rigby Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Who hasn’t watched Last Night of the Proms on TV in September and not wished they could be there, drinking in the party atmosphere at The Royal Albert Hall? Sadly, it’s not as easy as that – tickets are hard to come by and most of us have to enjoy the spectacle second hand. ...

Writer and Librettist: Richard Wagner Conductor: Francesco Corti Director: Harry Fehr Reviewer: Lauren Humphreys [Rating:4.5] It is a truth universally acknowledged that Richard Wagner was a not a very pleasant man, in fact a rather unpleasant man indeed, a man with an ideology almost whole-heartedly abhorrent to a modern audience, an ideology that encompassed: anti-Semitism, racism and rampant misogyny. The ...

Composer: Benjamin Britten Libretto: E.M. Forster and Eric Crozier Director: David Alden Reviewer: Lilla Grindlay [rating:3.5] Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd is the tragic tale of an idealistic young man who is press-ganged to join the crew of the ship the HMS Indomitable in 1797. Billy is a strong and able sailor with only one physical defect – an occasional stammer. ...