tue 16/09/2025

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

Uprising, Glyndebourne review - didactic community opera superbly performed

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The Ferryman, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin review - Jez Butterworth's Northern Irish epic comes close to home

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Fledermaus, Irish National Opera review - sex, please, we're Viennese/American/Russian/Irish

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Light of Passage, Royal Ballet review - Crystal Pite’s cosmic triptych powers back

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Mary, Queen of Scots, English National Opera review - heroic effort for an overcooked history lesson

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MacMillan's Ordo Virtutum, BBC Singers, Jeannin, Milton Court review - dramatic journey of a medieval soul

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Festen, Royal Opera review - firing on every front

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Gilliver, Liverman, Rangwanasha, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - a rainbow of British music

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Widmann, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - razor-sharp attack in adrenalin charges

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Biss, BBCSO, Hrůša, Barbican review - electrifying Shostakovich at a crucial time

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Hard Truths review - a bravura, hyperreal performance from Marianne Jean-Baptiste

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Giltburg, Pavel Haas Quartet, Wigmore Hall review - into the labyrinth of a Martinů masterpiece

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Tiffin Youth Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Jurowski, RFH review - perfect detachment suits public statements

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Jenůfa, Royal Opera review - electrifying details undermined by dead space

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Liepe, National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, Cottis, NCH, Dublin review - a spirited shot at Shostakovich

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Davis, National Symphony Orchestra, Maloney, National Concert Hall, Dublin review - operetta in excelsis

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That difficult second documentary – or if you will, “rockumentary” – seems to have been especially challenging for...

Tosca, Welsh National Opera review - a great company reduced...

So it’s come to this: WNO’s autumn season reduced to two operas, a Tosca borrowed from Opera North and a revival of their own Candide...

Not Your Superwoman, Bush Theatre review - powerful tribute...

The Bush is likely to continue its fine recent run of hit plays, with this funny, poignant, culturally authentic and beautifully acted two-hander...

Music Reissues Weekly: Robyn - Robyn 20th-Anniversary Editio...

Sometimes, record labels don’t like what those on their roster have recorded. Such was the case with BMG Sweden and Robin Carlsson who, as Robyn,...

Album: Twenty One Pilots - Breach

For the past decade, the Ohio alternative superstars Twenty One Pilots have cultivated a deep lore starting with 2015’s Blurryface, and...