When Katie Mitchell’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor was first seen at the Royal Opera eight years ago, its feminist agenda aroused much controversy and even some booing from the audience. The current production is a big improvement thanks to some telling tweaks from revival director Robin Tebbutt and a superb cast stunningly led … Read more
Bizet’s Carmen has good claims to be the most popular and most often produced of all operas, which makes it difficult for a director to come up with anything both new and acceptable but Damiano Michieletto has achieved an intriguing balance between traditional ideas and new insights in the new Royal Opera House production at … Read more
A stunning performance from Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian in the title role made an outstanding impression at the opening night of Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen this tale of a young Japanese girl and the callous American naval lieutenant who weds … Read more
Jonathan Kent’s stunning production of Puccini’s Tosca was first seen at the Royal Opera House in 2006 and this is already its 14th revival. The music and the dramatic plot make Tosca one of the greatest of all operas and Kent’s staging cannot be bettered. George Bernard Shaw described opera as “when a tenor and … Read more
So many operas end in the tragic death of a soprano, but the conclusion of Puccini’s La Bohème never fails to bring tears to my eyes. This is already the fifth revival of Richard Jones’ 2017 production of this opera and Keri-Lynn Wilson’s superbly sensitive conducting of the Covent Garden Orchestra brilliantly brings out the … Read more
