Christopher Maltman and Joseph Middleton, ‘The Soldier—from Severn to Somme’
At the Howard Assembly Room, a moving and intelligently compiled programme is given a beautiful—if slightly loud—performance. One of the chief delights of the classical song recital is that the comparatively short form of the Lied (song) allows for imaginative, thematic programming, and the present concert is in this regard exemplary. As baritone Christopher […]
War Requiem at Leeds Town Hall Reviewed
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem (1962), Performed at Leeds Town Hall, Sat 17th Nov 2018, by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Leeds Festival Chorus, City of Glasgow Chorus, and Cantabile Choir conducted by Simon Wright; Soloists Evelina Dobraceva (Soprano), Andrew Staples (Tenor), and Benjamin Appl (Baritone) Britten’s great masterpiece is given a performance full of immense skill and […]
Pumeza Matshikiza and Simon Lepper: Life and Love, Howard Assembly Room, Wed 31st Oct 2018
A fine but ostensibly unspectacular concert takes a surprising, delightful and memorable turn. Schumann, Five Songs from Myrthen, Opus 25 Schumann, Frauenliebe und –leben, Opus 42 Richard Strauss, Four Last Songs Reynaldo Hahn, Three Songs from Venezia Folk Songs from South Africa Pumeza Matshikiza is a striking South African soprano with a burgeoning operatic career […]
The Merry Widow, by Franz Lehár. Opera North at Leeds Grand Theatre
A production which, for its many delights, never makes up its mind whether it wants to be melancholy or jovial, but remains a memorable and special experience nonetheless. With Lehár’s The Merry Widow, Opera North’s 2018/19 season continues to reflect on the Great War in this centenary year. With the exception of two operas in […]
Tosca, Opera North at Leeds Grand Theatre
A classic opera is given a moving, immersive and delightful production. Tosca is a strange opera, inasmuch as it is at once musically great and dramatically unsatisfying. Those who are familiar with the opera will know that its ‘surprise’ ending can be seen from a mile off, that it contains almost no end of melodrama […]
