Venice
Dunedin Consort, Butt, Wigmore Hall review - Christmas glory in Venice and DresdenWednesday, 21 December 2022
St Mark’s shadow fell gloriously over the Wigmore Hall last night with a programme of Christmas music performed in, or inspired by, the great basilica of Venice. The Dunedin Consort braided festive works from pioneers who wrote for its grandly... Read more... |
Venice Biennale 2022 review - The Milk of Dreams Part 1: The GiardiniWednesday, 08 June 2022
Cecelia Alemani's vision for The Milk of Dreams, the International Exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2022 had me excited – and perplexed – from the moment I heard about it.Never mind the national pavilions which tend to dominate... Read more... |
The Gondoliers, Scottish Opera, Hackney Empire review - G&S con amoreSunday, 03 April 2022
Having sung the Gondoliers’ Duet with an Iranian tenor who’d been a big pop star in his native land, I know that internationalism hit performances of the Savoy operas some time ago (this superb but all-white ensemble admittedly doesn't follow the... Read more... |
A Merchant of Venice, Playground Theatre review - Shylock supreme in a pared-down productionThursday, 18 November 2021
What’s in an article? Director Bill Alexander has titled his new production A Merchant of Venice, leaving us to ponder the implications that arise from his avoidance of the standard “the”? Is it a hint towards generality, broadening the focus of... Read more... |
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World review - a harrowing tale vividly toldWednesday, 28 July 2021
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World is the most harrowing film you are ever likely to watch, but don’t let that put you off. This was a documentary waiting to be made. It tells the story of a young beauty propelled into international stardom before... Read more... |
BBC Proms live online: Benedetti, OAE, Cohen review – double helpings of Baroque zestFriday, 04 September 2020
In a year of absences and separations, here was another one we had to bear. Built around a programme of Baroque double concertos, last night’s Prom should have brought Nicola Benedetti and Alina Ibragimova together in a violin super-duo that... Read more... |
The Merchant of Venice, BBC iPlayer review – a parable on the limits of toleranceFriday, 31 July 2020
Ah, 2015. Those halcyon days of packed theatres. Thank God the RSC had the presence of mind to film Polly Findlay’s production of The Merchant of Venice, now streaming on BBC iPlayer. Condensed into just over two hours, it’s a thoughtful take on... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Franck, Holger Falk, Ursula Paludan MonbergSaturday, 20 June 2020
Franck: Psyché, Le Chasseur maudit, Les Éolides RCS Voices, Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Jean-Luc Tingaud (Naxos)Franck by Franck: Symphony in D Minor, Ce qu’on entend sur la montagne Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Mikko Franck... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: Don't Look NowMonday, 05 August 2019
Don’t Look Now is beautiful in its dankness – an eldritch psychological thriller that follows a grieving father’s stream-of-consciousness as it flows into deadly waters. Time Out 's critics have been magnanimous in twice voting Nicolas Roeg's... Read more... |
Monteverdi Vespers, Cummings, The English Concert, Garsington Opera Chorus review – Gloria in the ChilternsFriday, 26 July 2019
Scholars still wrangle over the work now known as Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. Was this an integral piece written for a single liturgical occasion, or a sort of anthology of luxury items assembled to help the composer’s bid to escape the underpaid... Read more... |
58th Venice Biennale review - confrontational, controversial, principledTuesday, 14 May 2019
There’s a barely disguised sense of threat running through the 2019 Venice Biennale. Of the 79 participating artists and groups, all are living and there’s a sharp sense that the purpose of the exhibition is to diagnose the ills afflicting the... Read more... |
Cathy Wilkes, British Pavilion, Venice Biennale review - poetic and personalTuesday, 14 May 2019
Dried flowers like offerings lie atop a gauze-covered rectangular frame. Pebbles surround its base alongside plaster casts, a desiccated dragonfly and an animal foot charm. Their placement is purposeful; their exact significance unclear. Four rib-... Read more... |
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