It took over 150 years for Les Vepres Siciliennes, or The Sicilian Vespers, to make it to London and onto the Royal Opera stage, but this week it debuted and proved that it truly does consider its title as one of the best operas by Verdi. It also turned out to be a great production […]
Category: Opera
Lead actress fails once again to make an appearance in Don Carlo
Every audience member hates to see a manager come out onto the stage before the performance because it usually means that the star performer most likely is not going to appear due to the fact that they are ill or something similar. This past Wednesday, the Don Carlo performance by Verdi went ahead once again […]
Opera director hospitalised after collapsing
The Vienna State Opera director was sent to the hospital and treated after he collapsed with severe back pain at a Sunday performance of Wagner opera. Franz Welser-Moest, who is also the director of the Cleveland Orchestra, collapsed near the close of the first act of the four hour long performance of Parsifal. The opera […]
Enjoy a great opera every Monday night on Radio 4
Bravo Figaro is the story of how much a builder loves opera, and was originally designed to be part of the Deloitte Ignite Series that takes place at the Royal Opera House. Instead it now plays on Radio 4 at 11pm every Monday. It is an hour long performance that tells the story of Mark […]
Donizetti’s little known opera comes to life at the Hackney Empire
An opera written almost 175 years ago about a key battle between the British and French in the 100 Years War might not seem the most riveting material, but ‘The Siege of Calais’, Donizetti’s little-known opera that premiered in 1836, most certainly came alive at the Hackney Empire in London last week. Though reviews are […]
Learning to sing opera
Anyone can sing opera, all it takes is a little training to control your body and voice; voice control is achieved by lowering the larynx (voice box). When yawning, you can feel you voice box sinking down, try keeping it in that position while singing a tune taking note that you should not allow it […]
The Minotaur is a big hit in Covent Garden
The revival of the Minotaur by Harrison Birtwistle at Covent Garden proves that there truly has been a serious and very welcome commitment to contemporary opera at the London venue. It is likely that Covent Garden has been planning the return of this piece since its first appearance five years ago, but it is still […]
Tamsin Greig swaps comedy for Opera
Tamsin Greig is best known for her comedic portrayals of characters on television playing the lead in plenty of great TV series such as Green Wing and Episodes. However, starting next week Greig is going to try something new when she heads into the world of music. The actress will be teaming up with the […]
Le nozze di Figaro struggles at the Royal Albert Hall
It is difficult to know for sure why the first hour of Le nozze di Figaro by Michael Grandage struggled so much during its first appearance at the Royal Albert Hall because in previous performances the opera has been quite professional and solid. Of course, it is a known fact that the venue is much […]
Latest performance of Les Troyens is spectacular
What a difference a change of format and different venue can make. The new performance of Les Troyens by The Royal Opera’s Proms was electrifying. It is now freed from the orchestra pit and from the lackluster production by David McVicar and rivals Colin Davis’s monumental LSO concert performance in 2003 for sheer excitement, that’s […]