Photo: Craig Fuller Opera Holland Park’s (OHP) 2023 season opened with Cecilia Stinton’s new production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” It leads a pack of new productions including “Hansel and Gretel,” the world premiere of Jonathan Dove’s new opera “Itch,” and “Ruddigore,” another G&S collaboration with Charles Court Opera. Stinton’s handsome production (designed by Neil Irish) is “Rigoletto” by way of Evelyn {…}
(Photo credit: Ali Wright) Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” after the novella by Prosper Mérimée, is a piece that presents plenty of challenges to audiences today. Some are owing to problematic aspects of the text – stereotyped depictions of the Gypsies in the piece, the spectacle of a murdered woman crowning the action – and others simply the weight of tradition and {…}
(Credit: © Craig Fuller) When it comes to sex and death, timing is everything. The Royal Academy of Music is one of Europe’s leading conservatoires, with a renowned opera program for young singers whose stars are in the ascendant. This autumn they offered – across two casts – a double bill of Maurice Ravel’s mischievous farce “L’heure Espagnole” and Giacomo {…}