| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 15-Feb-2013 Brooklyn Academy of Music: Howard Gilman Opera House | New York City Opera's Powder Her Face at BAM is a must-see |
 The chamber opera Powder Her Face has acquired a reputation as a “Don Giovanni for the Monica Lewinsky generation”, a tagline of which I was initially quite skeptical. In college I took a semester-long “Don Giovanni class” that was devoted in its entirety to Mozart’s opera, which inspired countless essays, criticisms, racy productions for both film and the stage, and even a 1987 spin-off opera by Elodie Lauten.Read full review... | |
| 15-Nov-2012 Sage: Hall One | Adès, Mason, Dowland, Beethoven: Northern Sinfonia re-imagining the past |
 The ability of musicians to take music from the past and present it in a new way gives an important sense of continuity that holds together our musical tradition, and this applies equally to performers and composers, as demonstrated this evening by Northern Sinfonia and their young guest conductor Ilan Volkov, in Hall One of The Sage Gateshead. The new approaches come through an exciting new interpretation of an existing piece of music, through re-workings of earlier pieces, or through entirely original works that are inspired by the past – and all three were covered this evening.
Read full review... | |
| 15-Nov-2012 The Jam House | Hebrides Ensemble: Eight Songs for a Mad King |
 The Jam House is a jazz and blues club occupying the BBC’s former Queen Street Studios in Edinburgh. Now owned by Jools Holland and designer Neil Tabbitt, its spacious Georgian interior is occasionally given over to theatrical and musical events. Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King (1969) qualifies as both music and theatre, and this production, which was directed by Ben Twist, designed by Fiona Watt and lit by Martin Palmer, was certainly theatrical.
Read full review... | |
| 10-Nov-2012 Lincoln Center: Metropolitan Opera House | Thomas Adès' The Tempest live in HD from the Met |
 It’s pretty luxurious to be able to stumble out of your front door at ten to six, wander five minutes round the corner to your friendly local cinema, be greeted with a glass of sparkling wine, and then watch a high-definition live screening of a top contemporary opera production at the Met.Read full review... | |
