| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 6-Apr-2013 Wigmore Hall | BCMG's Into the Little Hill on George Benjamin Day at Wigmore Hall |
 “All music – smiles the minister – is incidental.” So says one of the two singers in George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s Into the Little Hill, performed to perfection in Wigmore Hall by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group this Saturday. Anyone familiar with the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin will not be surprised to learn that the mysterious stranger whom the minister is addressing begs to differ. So, I am sure, would anybody listening to this mesmerising chamber opera itself.
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| 26-Jul-2012 Royal Albert Hall | Prom 17: Boulez's Le marteau sans maître |
 Unlike the rest of of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra's Proms thus far, this concert was not a sandwich. It was more of a chocolate cupcake, with a creamy topping of Beethoven and a strong, substantial body made of Boulez. Not one for the dieters, but a wonderful late-night snack before the next day's roast dinner of Beethoven 9.
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| 29-Jun-2012 Gran Teatre del Liceu | Robert Wilson's Pelléas et Mélisande in Barcelona |
 Claude Debussy’s only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, calls for a spring in a forest, scenes in a palace, a well in a park and a scene in the palace vaults. Ever since its premiere in 1902, it has been a difficult work to stage, and indeed to appreciate. Its complex symbolism, impressionistic music and lack of any memorable melodies were not a good recipe for a runaway hit.Read full review... | |
| 26-Apr-2012 Barbican Centre: Hall | Gerald Barry's The Importance of Being Earnest at the Barbican |
 The Importance of Being Earnest is Gerald Barry’s fourth full-length opera; his previous three have set texts much more at home in the opera world than this ambitious libretto from Wilde’s famous play. I approached this concert staging of the work with intrigue, but not a little trepidation – setting a text like this is bold and ensures bums on seats, but has its fair share of pitfalls, although Barry, mostly, avoids them.
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