(Photo: Pádraig Grant) In 1907, J.M. Synge’s play “The Playboy of the Western World” caused rioting when it premiered at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. It was not so much the portrayal of its central character, Christy Mahon, who turns up in a Mayo town, claiming to be on the run for killing his father, but the reaction of the local women, {…}
(Photo: Patricio Cassinoni) At his best, Donizetti is a master of the comic opera, with works such as “Don Pasquale” and “L’Elisir d’Amore” still playing to packed houses almost 200 years after their premieres. Others, however, are less well-known; his 1831 one-act farce, “Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze Teatrali,” being a case in point. Few people will have heard of it, {…}
(Photo: Opera Holland Park 2023 © Craig Fuller) Part of “La bohème’s” appeal is surely in its cinematic quality. Puccini’s score does so much meticulous work that directors sometimes feel that they have little to do other than show the singers to the stage – and ensure they take the right cues from the orchestra. There are sudden close-ups and {…}