Opera
Don Carlo, Royal Opera House
An operatic truism still doing the rounds declares that for Verdi's Il trovatore you need four of the greatest singers in the world.
Verdi’s Don Carlos is the tops
I go to about half a dozen operas a year, mainly by 19th-century Italian and French composers, plus some Mozart, bits of Handel, Richard Strauss and Britten and, most recently, Wagner.
Don Carlo, Royal Opera House dreamteam style
Jonas Kaufmann wasn't ill; Anja Harteros turned up. Given that she'd marked half her lines at the general rehearsal earlier in the week (every singer's prerogative of course, but rare here)I had wondered.
Don Carlo - review
Just as there is no definitive version of Verdi's largest opera, so a flawless performance of this vast piece could only exist in the imagination.
Don Carlo, Royal Opera House, London
The reason for the buzz around this revival came clear as Jonas Kaufmann launched into his rapturous opening aria.
Don Carlo, Royal Opera House, review
This was one of those rare and blissful evenings in an opera house when the full nobility of Verdi’s mature genius was communicated by voices adequate to its beauties, depths and demands. I am still reeling from the impact.
Don Carlo - Royal Opera House
Politics and religion are dangerously entwined in Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo. Based on a 1787 play by Friedrich Schiller, Don Carlo was first performed at the Paris Opéra in 1867. Verdi made extensive revisions to the opera over the following 20 years.
Joshua, Grand, Leeds
Handel's 1748 oratorio is rarely performed, so Opera North's staging - imaginatively directed, designed and lit by Charles Edwards - is an all the more welcome addition to the company's Leeds repertoire.
Joshua - Opera North - Leeds Grand Theatre
Given their splendid, highly affective music, riveting drama and continuing appeal and relevance to today’s audiences, it is hardly surprising that Handel’s late oratorios have often been described as his greatest operas. Accordingly, staged productio