Journalist, photographer and social commentator.
Is La Damnation de Faust an opera, an oratorio, a dramatic legend, or a symphony for four soloists, chorus and children’s choir? Hector Berlioz himself intended it for the concert hall, famously describing it as “an opera without décor or […]
Puccini’s Tosca is pure 19th century pulp fiction. It is an irresistible, shabby, shocking – according to the critics of the day– little melodrama that hints at political tyranny and social upheaval. With a cast featuring a sadistic, sex-obsessed police […]
Tate Modern’s latest exhibition, Frida: the Making of an Icon, features (only) 30 of Kahlo’s own oil paintings as well as works by her husband, Diego Rivera, and several of her Mexican contempories. The second part of the show displays […]
An upside-down apostle, a head colossal, a crucified Christ in paint, a beaten and bound saint, a lamb readied for slaughter, a rose and a cup of water: these are a few of my favourite things in the National Gallery’s […]
The versatility of Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) knew few bounds. While he was first and foremost a towering statesman, he could have found success in any number of other disciplines. His stories about his ¨Indiana Jones-like¨ capers in the […]
Gustav Mahler was a Bohemian by birth, but the family moved to Iglau in Moravia when he was only a few months old. It was a largely German-speaking town, and Mahler never learned to speak Czech very well. For Mahler, […]
Can there really be a production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro that is, in nearly every respect, perfectly staged and superbly sung? I wouldn’t have believed it myself – until I recently experienced Opéra National de Paris’s performance of […]
The exhibition Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Vienna at The Finnish National Gallery suggests that Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s more mature mythical style was influenced by his encounters with the Viennese Secession movement. His paintings, it’s hinted, in turn made an impact on Gustav […]
The Finnish Baroque Orchestra presented Haydn’s final great masterpiece, the oratorio Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) in Helsinki, Bern and Zürich together with the Zürcher Sing-Akadenie and three world-class soloists. Florian Helgath, widely recognised as one of the world’s leading choral […]
Richard Strauss’ Elektra is a brutal opera. The title role requires a dramatic soprano to maintain total control across her entire range, from low A to high C. While navigating the rapidly descending and ascending vocal lines, she must […]
Berliner Philharmoniker recordings · Kirill Petrenko · Arnold Schoenberg 3 CD / 1 Blu-ray Disc The Berlin Philharmoniker, under the direction of Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko, presents a box set of live recordings featuring some of Schönberg’s most ‘beloved’ works, including […]
The Vienna Philharmonic are regular guests at BBC Proms, and during their visits audiences expect to hear at least one quintessentially Viennese work. On their first night we were treated to Bruckner’s magnificent (unfinished) Symphony No.9, premiered in 1903 in […]