wed 05/11/2025

stephen walsh

Bio
Stephen is a former Observer music critic and a regular contributor to The Times, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Independent and the BBC. He is the author of a major biography of Stravinsky and other books on Stravinsky, Bartók and Schumann. He holds a chair in music at Cardiff University.

Articles By Stephen Walsh

Tosca, Welsh National Opera review - a great company reduced to brilliance

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Káťa Kabanová, Glyndebourne review - emotional concentration in a salle modulable

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theartsdesk at the Three Choirs Festival - Passion in the Cathedral

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Mazeppa, Grange Park Opera review - a gripping reassessment

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Peter Grimes, Welsh National Opera review - febrile energy and rage

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Uproar, Rafferty, Royal Welsh College, Cardiff review - colourful new inventions inspired by Ligeti

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The Marriage of Figaro, Welsh National Opera review - no concessions and no holds barred

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Il trittico, Welsh National Opera review - welcome back (but not a good sign)

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Rigoletto, Welsh National Opera review - back to what they do best

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Il Trittico, Welsh National Opera review - another triumph for a hard-pressed company

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The Merry Widow, Glyndebourne review - fun and frolics in the Embassy

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Così fan tutte, Welsh National Opera review - relevance reduced to irrelevance

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Uproar, Rafferty, Royal Welsh College, Cardiff review - a rare spring in the new music step

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BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martin, Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff review - a host of horns in the wild woods

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La Traviata, Welsh National Opera review - memorable revival, unforgettable lead

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Ainadamar, Welsh National Opera review - hits hard without breaking ground

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'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages... ...
The Makropulos Case, Royal Opera - pointless feminist compli...

Janáček described his nature-versus-humanity fable The Cunning Little Vixen as “a merry thing with a sad...

Othello, Theatre Royal, Haymarket review - a surprising mix...

Perspectives on Shakespeare's tragedy have changed over the decades....

Benson Boone, O2 London review - sequins, spectacle and chee...

After cancelling his Birmingham gig an hour before curtain-up due to illness, the anticipatory hype around whether...

Die My Love review - good lovin' gone bad

Directed by Lynne Ramsay and based on the book by Ariana Harwicz, Die My Love is an unsettling dive into the disturbed psyche of...

Midlake's 'A Bridge to Far' is a tour-de-forc...

“Climb upon a bridge to far, go anywhere your heart desires.” The key phrase from the title track of Midlake’s sixth studio album conveys the...

Macbeth, RSC, Stratford review - Glaswegian gangs and ghouli...

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s so very different about Belfast and Glasgow, both of which I have visited in the last few...

Sananda Maitreya, Town Hall, Birmingham review - 80s megasta...

During a false start to “Billy Don’t Fall”, on Sunday night at Birmingham’s iconic Town Hall, Sananda Maitreya took the opportunity to address the...

First Person: Kerem Hasan on the transformative experience o...

There is a scene in the second act of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Dead Man Walking in which the man condemned to death, Joseph De...

Mr Scorsese, Apple TV review - perfectly pitched documentary...

This five-parter by Rebecca Miller is essential viewing for any...