Music Theatre Wales - Cardiff | 25 April 2024 |
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Performance reviews
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VioletMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 9 |
The score is quite effective at sustaining the mood of impending doom |
28 Jul 22 / Opera Journal |
Time on her side: fairytale meets feminism in Tom Coult’s Violet |
20 Jul 22 / Bachtrack |
A thrilling new opera from Tom Coult and Alice Birch |
25 Jun 22 / Broadway World |
more reviews [+]
The striking London premiere of Tom Coult’s first opera, Violet |
25 Jun 22 / Seen and Heard |
Coult’s score doesn’t so much as embody this dynamism as serve as a parallel to the emotive drama |
25 Jun 22 / Opera Today |
In opera Violet, time becomes elastic and society crumbles |
12 Jun 22 / The Big Issue |
Wer hat da an der Uhr gedreht? |
9 Jun 22 / FAZ |
Tom Coult’s darkly funny yet disturbing opera makes a significant splash at Aldeburgh |
7 Jun 22 / The Stage |
Coult’s debut opera opens Aldeburgh with assurance and authenticity |
6 Jun 22 / The Guardian |
Denis & KatyaMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 2 |
Teenage suicide and audience complicity |
27 Mar 20 / Opera Today |
Vital new opera about voyeurism in the social media age |
2 Mar 20 / The Stage |
The Intelligence ParkThe Royal OperaNo. of reviews: 7 |
The wit of the plot doesn’t emerge emphatically enough |
4 Oct 19 / Classical Source |
For all of its cleverness, Barry’s The Intelligence Park leaves one unsatisfied |
30 Sep 19 / Seen and Heard |
Dizzying Gerald Barry |
29 Sep 19 / The Observer |
more reviews [+]
The cast give their all |
28 Sep 19 / Opera Today |
Brilliantly played but Barry's opera still bewilders |
27 Sep 19 / The Guardian |
A farrago of frivolities |
27 Sep 19 / Independent |
Absurd, unpleasant and wonderfully pertinent: Gerald Barry's The Intelligence Park |
27 Sep 19 / Bachtrack |
PassionMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 1 |
Passion is a challenge and there are moments when it feels like an eternity |
11 Nov 18 / The Reviews Hub |
Der Goldene DracheMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 1 |
Passion, power and politics |
9 Oct 17 / The Observer |
associated articles [+]
Hackney Empire pulls out of opera over all-white cast
The London premiere of an opera set in a Chinese takeaway has been cancelled after a backlash over its all-white cast.
The London premiere of an opera set in a Chinese takeaway has been cancelled after a backlash over its all-white cast.
Y TŵrBuxton FestivalNo. of reviews: 1 |
Un nouvel opus d’un compositeur à suivre |
26 Jul 17 / Anaclase |
Y TŵrMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 3 |
Lights, camera, inaction |
30 May 17 / The Critics' Circle |
Welsh-language opera traces marriage's highs and lows |
23 May 17 / The Guardian |
This brand new opera has much going for it and deserves longevity |
21 May 17 / The Reviews Hub |
The Devil InsideMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 12 |
Faustian concept cleverly updated by MacRae and Walsh in The Devil Inside |
22 Apr 16 / Seen and Heard |
The orchestral writing is strikingly original, quirky and dramatic |
29 Feb 16 / The Reviews Hub |
New opera is a magical brew of drama and a great cast |
13 Feb 16 / Manchester Evening News |
more reviews [+]
Michael Rafferty’s conducting gave great clarity to Stuart MacRae’s dramatically effective music |
10 Feb 16 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews |
Careful what you wish for |
9 Feb 16 / The Critics' Circle |
McRae’s The Devil Inside provides a chilling night at the Peacock Theatre |
8 Feb 16 / Seen and Heard |
An evening of vividly gripping theatre in this new opera based on Robert Louis Stevenson's story |
8 Feb 16 / Planet Hugill |
MacRae’s score is strong on spooky effects but at two hours the morality tale is stretched beyond its limit |
7 Feb 16 / Express |
Each of the soloists was completely inside the music and tale |
7 Feb 16 / Classical Source |
A bright, edgy take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story The Bottle Imp |
6 Feb 16 / Telegraph |
An ambitious but misguided opera |
5 Feb 16 / Independent |
Here's that rarity, a new opera that delivers the goods |
5 Feb 16 / What's on Stage |
The TrialMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 13 |
Glass and Music Theatre Wales get result in Kafka’s The Trial |
16 Nov 14 / Seen and Heard |
A new distillation and soundworld |
11 Nov 14 / Bachtrack |
Where the production comes alive is through the staging and the exceptional performances |
29 Oct 14 / Manchester Confidential |
more reviews [+]
The world premiere of Philip Glass’s The Trial unsettles |
19 Oct 14 / The Observer |
Philip Glass’s music seems to fit Kafka’s Trial like a glove |
15 Oct 14 / Mark Ronan's Theatre Reviews |
Kafka's story has an astonishing prescience |
14 Oct 14 / Independent |
Glass’s opera has too little sense of genuine menace |
14 Oct 14 / Evening Standard |
The score lacks distinctiveness and the drama is uncompelling |
14 Oct 14 / The Stage |
Kafka, Glass, Hampton: this new chamber opera is a dream ticket |
14 Oct 14 / Financial Times |
On paper it's a marriage made in, well, not quite heaven; more a kind of Kafkaesque purgatory |
13 Oct 14 / What's on Stage |
Philip Glass’s score adds up to much more than just a play with musical accompaniment |
13 Oct 14 / The Guardian |
Cannily pitched |
13 Oct 14 / Telegraph |
Glass's operatic "The Trial" brings Kafka up to date |
13 Oct 14 / Reuters |
Luci mie traditriciMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 4 |
The whole thing comes across as an orgy of aesthetic dandyism |
29 Oct 13 / Independent |
A powerful realisation of a breathaking piece of music theatre |
29 Oct 13 / The Stage |
An unusual chamber opera makes a masterly tribute to Carlo Gesualdo |
29 Oct 13 / The Arts Desk |
more reviews [+]
A performance of pure gold |
29 Oct 13 / Opera Britannia |
GreekMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 9 |
It’s past its sell-by date |
28 Oct 13 / Independent |
A primitive, earthy, '80s classic |
24 Oct 13 / Opera Britannia |
Steven Berkoff and Mark-Anthony Turnage come face to in-yer-face in this savage political opera |
23 Oct 13 / What's on Stage |
more reviews [+]
The virtuosity and assimilation of styles in Turnage’s score are impressive |
23 Oct 13 / Classical Source |
Turnage’s opera has lost little of its impact |
23 Oct 13 / Financial Times |
A bloody good night at the opera |
23 Oct 13 / The Arts Desk |
Turnage’s Greek retains its ‘angry young man’ image |
14 Oct 13 / Seen and Heard |
Gripping production of Greek avoids violence |
4 Oct 13 / Seen and Heard |
Greek, based on Steven Berkoff’s 1980s reworking of the Oedipus story, is a success |
4 Oct 13 / Wales Online |
Luci mie traditriciBuxton FestivalNo. of reviews: 1 |
Though it might not be to all tastes, its appearance is somewhat overdue |
18 Jul 13 / The Guardian |
associated articles [+]
Salvatore Sciarrino
His stage works are performed and acclaimed throughout Europe, but this week's Buxton opera festival production is a UK first. Salvatore Sciarrino talks about how, and why, he composes.
His stage works are performed and acclaimed throughout Europe, but this week's Buxton opera festival production is a UK first. Salvatore Sciarrino talks about how, and why, he composes.
PingMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 1 |
Intriguing double bill from Music Theatre Wales |
29 Mar 13 / Seen and Heard |
Eight Songs for a Mad KingMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 1 |
Intriguing double bill from Music Theatre Wales |
29 Mar 13 / Seen and Heard |
In the Locked RoomMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 2 |
Two new chamber operas offer topicality and realism with mixed results |
2 Oct 12 / The Arts Desk |
The star of the evening was the MTW Ensemble, tackling two very different scores with great dexterity |
29 Sep 12 / Classical Source |
Ghost PatrolMusic Theatre WalesNo. of reviews: 2 |
Two new chamber operas offer topicality and realism with mixed results |
2 Oct 12 / The Arts Desk |
The star of the evening was the MTW Ensemble, tackling two very different scores with great dexterity |
29 Sep 12 / Classical Source |
No more reviews |
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News & Articles
Music Theatre Wales launches drive to diversify opera's future |
Opera company Music Theatre Wales has revealed plans to transform its output, with a major drive to diversify the artists and audiences it engages with. |
5 Aug 2020 / The Stage |
Hackney Empire pulls out of opera over all-white cast |
The London premiere of an opera set in a Chinese takeaway has been cancelled after a backlash over its all-white cast. |
13 Oct 2017 / The Guardian |
Music Theatre Wales to stage world premiere |
Music Theatre Wales will be offering a rare opportunity to hear a new opera in the Welsh language by established Welsh composer Guto Puw in 2017. |
25 Jan 2017 / South Wales Evening Post |
Music Theatre Wales: lean, mean and fighting fit at 25 |
With its focussed identity, realistic aims and minimal overheads, Music Theatre Wales sets an example other arts institutions should follow. |
16 Oct 2013 / Telegraph |
Philip Glass writes opera for Music Theatre Wales |
Famed American composer Philip Glass is taking his involvement with Music Theatre Wales to new heights with a specially-written opera based on a Franz Kafka short story. |
16 Nov 2010 / BBC News |