| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 16-Jan-2013 Leeds Grand Theatre | New production of Verdi's Otello from Opera North |
 Few operas begin as arrestingly as Verdi’s Otello; no overture here – or, indeed, the first act of Shakespeare’s play. Instead, in a single galvanising orchestral outburst a terrific storm is set in motion, underpinned by the most gratingly dissonant of pedals in the lowest reaches of the organ.Read full review... | |
| 10-Aug-2012 Royal Albert Hall | Prom 37: Elgar's The Apostles with The Hallé |
 If you’ve never been to a grand-scale choral work at the Royal Albert Hall, I’d urge you to do so at the earliest opportunity. This wasn’t my first visit to the Proms, and I’ve experienced oratorios, requiems and passions galore in other places, but to hear hundreds of accomplished singers filling this vast circular space was new territory for me. The hall seemed made for the occasion.
Read full review... | |
| 5-May-2012 Bridgewater Hall | Elder's apostolic Elgar: The Apostles at the Bridgewater Hall |
 Elgar’s oratorios The Apostles (1903) and The Kingdom (1906) are the manifestation of a fascination that he had held since his childhood in Worcester. When alerted by one of his schoolmasters that at the time of their calling into the service of Christ, the twelve apostles were perhaps no more intelligent than those assembled in that school room, Elgar’s imagination swelled and mused on thoughts of the Apostles’ youth and humanity; their faith, their weaknesses, their astonishment in Christ’s miracles and their grief at his crucifixion.Read full review... | |
