fri 07/03/2025

Opera Interviews

theartsdesk Q&A: Conductor Antonio Pappano

james Woodall

Antonio Pappano (b. 1959) enjoys the best of two opulent worlds. At the Royal Opera House in London (now his home city), he's well stuck in to his seventh season as music director, basking in popularity and plaudits previous incumbents could only have dreamt of. In Rome, he's director of the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, a post he took up in 2005.

Read more...

theartsdesk Q&A: Opera Singer Rolando Villazón

Jasper Rees

In the next few weeks the wider public will be introduced to the charms of Rolando Villazón (b. 1972). Anointed as a star of opera houses around the world in the last decade, the Mexican tenor is about to participate in ITV1's Popstar to Opera Star. As singing celebs from the world of pop music take on the big arias, Villazón has been cast as mentor, panellist and figleaf. It is all a very long way from Covent Garden.

Read more...

theartsdesk Q&A: Sir Charles Mackerras

Igor Toronyi-Lalic

At 84 years of age, Sir Charles Mackerras is one of the best-respected and best-loved operatic conductors working in the world today. He conducts Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw for the English National Opera tonight and, despite bouts of ill health, found time to talk about his friendship - and falling out - with Britten, his time conducting the opera under Britten's watchful eye, his experiences in Prague...

Read more...

Pages

latest in today

Help to give theartsdesk a future!

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.

It followed some...

theartsdesk Q&A: Oscar-winner Adrien Brody on 'The...

Adrien Brody is on a roll. Following his Golden Globe and BAFTA Best Actor wins for his performance as László Toth in...

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, ITV1 review - powerful d...

The story of Ruth Ellis’s execution in 1955 has found its own macabre niche in British folklore, and has been been the subject of several film,...

Album: Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea

Within the loud realm of metal, it often exists happily unbothered by the mainstream. And although a metal band going mainstream isn't always well...

Towards Zero, BBC One review - more entertaining parlour gam...

The BBC’s latest “cool” Agatha Christie adaptation has many...

Album: The Burning Hell - Ghost Palace

Cultural references run up the flagpole on Ghost Palace include Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin’” buskers covering Lynryd Skynyrd and Ed...

Mansfield Park, Guildhall School review - fun when frothy, c...

Let’s call it Jane Austen fit for the West End, but with opera singers. The fact that it also serves as a fun ensemble piece for students is also...

Chuck Prophet, Mid Sussex Music Hall, Hassocks review - the...

Forty years ago, Chuck Prophet was the Keith Richards-like guitar hotshot in Green On Red, peers of R.E.M. and among the raw country-punk...

Echoes: Stone Circles, Community and Heritage, Stonehenge Vi...

Stonehenge is about 5,000 years old; three photographic artists currently exhibiting in the visitor centre are all under the age of...