wed 02/07/2025

David Nice

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Bio
The classical music and opera editor of theartsdesk, David writes, lectures and broadcasts on music. A former music critic for The Guardian and The Sunday Correspondent, he has made regular appearances on BBC Radio 3, not least in the long-running series Building a Library. He has written short studies on Elgar, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and the history of opera, and is currently working on the second volume of his Prokofiev biography for Yale University Press. He runs two Zoom lecture series, Opera in Depth on Mondays and a symphonies course on Thursdays.

Articles By David Nice

Semele, Royal Opera review - unholy smoke

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Le nozze di Figaro, Glyndebourne review - perceptive humanity in period setting

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Aldeburgh Festival, Weekend 2 review - nine premieres, three young ensembles - and Allan Clayton

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Schubertiade 3 at the Ragged Music Festival, Mile End review - five great musicians keep spirits soaring

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Joyceana around Bloomsday, Dublin review - flawless adaptations of great dramatic writing

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theartsdesk at the Dublin International Chamber Music Festival - musical revelations, nature beyond

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La Straniera, Chelsea Opera Group, Barlow, Cadogan Hall review - diva power saves minor Bellini

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The Queen of Spades, Garsington Opera review - sonorous gliding over a heart of darkness

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Il Trittico, Opéra de Paris review - reordered Puccini works for a phenomenal singing actor

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Batiashvili, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - French and Polish narcotics

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Parsifal, Glyndebourne review - the music flies up, the drama remains below

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Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Wigmore Hall review - too big a splash in complete Ravel

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Karim Said, Leighton House review - adventures from Byrd to Schoenberg

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Giulio Cesare, The English Concert, Bicket, Barbican review - 10s across the board in perfect Handel

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Einkvan, Det Norske Teatret, The Coronet Theatre review - alienation times six

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The Excursions of Mr Brouček, LSO, Rattle, Barbican review - sensuousness, fire and comedy in perfect balance

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Semele, Royal Opera review - unholy smoke

Poor, slightly silly Semele fries at the sight of lover Jupiter casting off his mortal form, but in Congreve’s and Handel’s supposedly happy...

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Le nozze di Figaro, Glyndebourne review - perceptive humanit...

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Fidelio, Garsington Opera review - a battle of sunshine and...

Sometimes, as the first act of Beethoven’s Fidelio closes, the chorus of prisoners discreetly fade away backstage as their brief taste of...

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Appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe has long been an expensive gig for comics. But while stand-ups may need only a microphone to ply...

Album: Brìghde Chaimbeul - Sunwise

The first five-and-a-half minutes of Sunwise’s opening track “Dùsgadh / Waking" are taken up by a drone. Played on the Scottish small...

Music Reissues Weekly: Rupert’s People - Dream In My Mind

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