Category Archives: Cultural Matters

Die tote Stadt

Posted on February 16, 2018 by leslie

Die tote Stadt Erich Korngold: Die tote Stadt, Dresden, 2 February 2018, directed by David Bösch, conducted by Dmitri Jurowski, reviewed by TONY COOPER Written during the First World War by the teenage Korngold, already an internationally-successful composer, Die tote … Continue reading →

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The Ring, at Dresden

Posted on February 12, 2018 by leslie

The Ring, at Dresden Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen, Semperoper, Dresden, January 2018, directed by Willy Decker, Staatskapelle, conducted by Christian Thielemann, reviewed by TONY COOPER Born in 1950, the German theatre director Willy Decker – who staged the world … Continue reading →

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Scritti Politti

Posted on February 5, 2018 by leslie

Scritti Politti Satyagraha, an opera in three acts by Philip Glass, libretto based on the Bhagavad Gita, directed by Phelim McDermott, conducted by Karen Kamensek, a collaboration with improbable, 3rd revival of ENO’s 2007 production, 1st February 2018, reviewed by LESLIE JONES Charismatic conductor … Continue reading →

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This Sporting Life

Posted on February 4, 2018 by leslie

This Sporting Life Bill Hartley recalls a once vibrant sub-culture The death last year of author and playwright David Storey saw one of the last ‘Angry Young Men’ leave the stage. Storey was born in Wakefield in 1933 and may have … Continue reading →

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Falstaff

Posted on January 8, 2018 by leslie

 Falstaff Falstaff, music composed by Verdi, libretto by Arrigo Boito, Opera Vlaanderen, Antwerpen, Belgium, December 31st 2017, directed by Christoph Waltz, conducted by Tomáš Netopil, reviewed by TONY COOPER With a libretto by Arrigo Boito based on Shakespeare’s The Merry … Continue reading →

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Recessional

Posted on January 6, 2018 by leslie

 Recessional Lo, all our pomp of yesterday  Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!                                          (Kipling) For Stuart Millson, loss and decline … Continue reading →

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No Secular Heavens Here

Posted on December 25, 2017 by leslie

No Secular Heavens Here Manilius’ Astronomica and the Poetics of 4. 1-11, by Darrell Sutton Lucretius (99BC-55BC) penned an atheistic poem entitled De Rerum Natura (DRN). Its Latin text contains poetry of a high order. In the world of DRN, … Continue reading →

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Bitter and Twisted

Posted on December 18, 2017 by leslie

  Bitter and Twisted Rigoletto, opera in three acts, music by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, after Victor Hugo’s Le Roi s’amuse, director David McVicar, orchestra conducted by Alexander Joel, Royal Opera, 14th December 2017, reviewed by LESLIE … Continue reading →

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Rattle and Hun

Posted on December 10, 2017 by leslie

Rattle and Hun Sir Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic, Staatsoper, Unter Den Linden, Berlin, December 2017: Stravinsky, Petrushka, Rachmaninov, Symphony No. 3 in A minor. Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by François-Xavier Roth, Konzerthauss, Berlin. Reviewed by TONY COOPER Sergei Rachmaninov wrote his Third Symphony in 1936, … Continue reading →

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Mad Days in Münster

Posted on December 2, 2017 by leslie

Mad Days in Münster Le prophète, Grand Opera in 5 acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer, Deutsche Oper, Berlin, November 26th, 2017, directed by Olivier Py, conducted by Enrique Mazzola, reviewed by TONY COOPER Le prophète forms part of a project … Continue reading →

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