Opera North – Richard Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos at Leeds Grand Theatre
Over the years, Opera North has done us sterling service in putting on Strauss’ operas. The Company still managed semi-staged offerings of the sensational, flagitious tales embodied in both Elektra and Salomé, even when it had no theatre in which to perform. This co-production, with Gothenburg Opera, of the delicious Ariadne Auf Naxos is the […]
LEOŠ JANÁČEK: THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN
On these shores and considerably further afield, Opera North is held in peerless regard for its Janáček productions. This vintage staging of The Cunning Little Vixen, revived here from its last appearance in 1984, formed the root of a now burgeoning reputation. Maria Björnson‘s exquisite, almost fairyland animal costumes, her beautifully-apt, undulating countryside set, David […]
Giacomo Puccini: Tosca – Reviewed
Just about every opera entwines two people fatefully pierced by Cupid’s arrow and, if the storyline went no further than that, what wondrously glorious music would we forever associate with the genre, yet how woefully brief would each production be … the classical music equivalent of a three-minute single. Opera keeps our interest for an […]
The Nutcracker – A Festive Feast From Northern Ballet
As you may have realised by now, I love the theatre and I love music, so much so that I’ve spent my career teaching it. But so far, ballet has eluded me. That changed last night at Leeds Grand Theatre. I know a lot of the music extremely well, but my one foray into watching […]
‘Stick Man’: A Christmas Must See at Leeds Playhouse
Reading books to children can be an absolute delight. It can also be a form of slow torture if they pull out the same book for the 50th time in a row or they choose one of the many stories that make you wonder how they ever got published. Luckily, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler […]
