Royal Festival Hall, London - London
29 March 2024

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Performance reviews

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La Damnation de Faust

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 1

Devilishly good
7 Feb 23 / Bachtrack
Duke Bluebeard's Castle

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 6

Luminosidad entre tinieblas
19 Nov 21 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish)
Two very different interpretations of Bartók’s only opera enthral
14 Nov 21 / The Observer
Edward Gardner and the LPO make Bluebeard’s Castle a shattering experience
9 Nov 21 / Seen and Heard
Singers transcend concert-performance conventions in the ultimate 'opera of the mind'
9 Nov 21 / The Arts Desk
Bartók’s opera wields devastating power in contrasting performances
8 Nov 21 / The Guardian
Darkness and light took centre stage in this concert
8 Nov 21 / Music OMH
The Midsummer Marriage

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 7

What a teeming, superabundant piece Tippett's Midsummer Marriage is
7 Oct 21 / The Spectator
The LPO has begun its new era on a high
3 Oct 21 / The Observer
Robert Murray gave a searching, strenuous account of the young hero, Mark,
3 Oct 21 / Classical Source
Edward Gardner conducts a magnificent The Midsummer Marriage to open his first season at the LPO
30 Sep 21 / Opera Today
The Midsummer Marriage joyously launches Edward Gardner’s tenure at the LPO
28 Sep 21 / Seen and Heard
Midsummer fire: Tippett sets the new LPO season alight
28 Sep 21 / Bachtrack
Tippett’s divisive opera thrills in stupendous performance
27 Sep 21 / The Guardian
Siegfried

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 7

Un Siegfried triunfante en un Londres trágico
11 Feb 20 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish)
Vladimir Jurowski gives textured if somewhat uneven reading of Wagner’s work
7 Feb 20 / OperaWire
Die Geburt der Komödie aus dem Geiste der Musik
5 Feb 20 / concerti
A fleet-footed approach to the 'scherzo' of the Ring cycle
4 Feb 20 / Telegraph
Both vocally and as a presence, Elena Pankratova is quite something
4 Feb 20 / Classical Source
Vladimir Jurowski conducts a magnificent Siegfried
4 Feb 20 / Opera Today
Jurowski showcases Wagner with wonder and excitement
3 Feb 20 / The Guardian
Peter Grimes

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 5

Skelton and Gardner have grown together in this music
13 Dec 19 / The Spectator
Stuart Skelton was magnificent in the title role
4 Dec 19 / Music OMH
Electrifying performance of visceral power
3 Dec 19 / The Guardian
A gripping semi-staging of Britten’s opera
3 Dec 19 / Bachtrack
Emotion trumps reason
3 Dec 19 / Classical Source
Semele

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 7

Rising stars: Christophe Rousset directs Handel's Semele with an emphasis on youth
23 Oct 17 / Planet Hugill
A reminder of the genius of Handel in Semele
23 Oct 17 / Seen and Heard
The soloists’ performances were highly dynamic
23 Oct 17 / Music OMH
Rousset brought off an infectious, even delicate vitality
20 Oct 17 / Classical Source
Soprano Louise Alder captured every bewitching nuance of Handel’s heroine
20 Oct 17 / Financial Times
I can’t remember one as dramatic as this one
20 Oct 17 / Independent
A stylish take on Handel's classic
20 Oct 17 / Evening Standard
Oedipe

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 8

The LPO delivered extremely textured and nuanced playing
27 Sep 17 / Music OMH
A complex masterpiece
26 Sep 17 / Financial Times
Complex Oedipus: Enescu’s ambitious only opera opens the LPO season
26 Sep 17 / Bachtrack
Vladimir Jurowski, the LPO and a fine cast immerse the audience in Enescu’s Oedipe
26 Sep 17 / Seen and Heard
The singing shone and the orchestra played with fire and lustre
26 Sep 17 / The Times
George Enescu’s opera has a bewildering impact
26 Sep 17 / Independent
Jurowski makes case for Enescu's 'lost masterpiece'
25 Sep 17 / The Guardian
Vladimir Jurowski and the LPO released the best of this ancient myth and its subtly modern interpretation
25 Sep 17 / Classical Source
Der Freischütz

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 5

Bang on target
21 Jun 16 / The Critics' Circle
The OAE’s 30th anniversary Der Freischütz hits the bullseye
9 Jun 16 / Seen and Heard
A thoroughly well-prepared and enjoyable account of the score, rousingly delivered
9 Jun 16 / Opera Britannia
Mark Elder brought all his considerable theatrical experience to bear on the score
9 Jun 16 / Classical Source
The OAE celebrates in style with Weber’s Der Freischütz
9 Jun 16 / Bachtrack
Die Zauberflöte

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 6

Fairytale Flute
17 May 16 / The Critics' Circle
A joyous evening that through innovative means did much to capture the essential spirit of The Magic Flute as a fairytale
13 May 16 / Music OMH
Fischer conducts it with infectious joy
12 May 16 / The Guardian
Iván Fischer’s conception of Die Zauberflöte: a quixotic mishmash of ideas
12 May 16 / Seen and Heard
A charming realisation of the opera
12 May 16 / Classical Source
Leather and velvet: the Budapest Festival Orchestra's Magic Flute at the Royal Festival Hall
12 May 16 / Bachtrack
Jenufa

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 9

Czech Philharmonic embellishes Jenůfa with its golden Viennese sound
25 Apr 16 / Seen and Heard
Karita Mattila marked a significant milestone in her life last week
24 Apr 16 / Express
Adriana Kohútková sang the title role with much finesse
21 Apr 16 / Opera Britannia
Karita Mattila put in the evening’s strongest performance
21 Apr 16 / Music OMH
Music of surpassing beauty
20 Apr 16 / Independent
A crazily lavish, almost unbearably moving performance of Jenůfa
20 Apr 16 / Telegraph
Formidable Mattila is devastating as the Kostelnička
20 Apr 16 / The Guardian
Mattila debuts as the Kostelnicka in Jenufa
20 Apr 16 / Classical Source
Mattila delivers powerful Kostelnička in Czech Phil's Jenůfa
20 Apr 16 / Bachtrack
Duke Bluebeard's Castle

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 7

Dutoit’s pacing was finely calibrated to ratchet up the tension
3 Feb 15 / Music OMH
The RPO and Dutoit presented the imagistic score with precision
2 Feb 15 / Opera Today
Bartók’s portrait of marital failure chillingly realised
29 Jan 15 / The Guardian
Last-minute substitutes deliver the goods in Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
29 Jan 15 / Seen and Heard
A fine performance, with Judith and Bluebeard hovering between character and archetype
29 Jan 15 / Classical Source
A tremendous account of Bartok’s unique opera
29 Jan 15 / Opera Britannia
Far more than a fairy tale
29 Jan 15 / Bachtrack
Pelléas et Mélisande

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 10

Salonen and a brilliant solo line-up triumph with Debussy's opera
4 Dec 14 / Independent
A more perfect combination of singers would be hard to find
2 Dec 14 / Music OMH
An extraordinary performance of an extraordinary work
2 Dec 14 / Boulezian
Salonen’s Pelléas et Mélisande an extraordinary performance and musical triumph
1 Dec 14 / Seen and Heard
A stirring concert performance of Debussy’s opera
1 Dec 14 / Financial Times
An unforgettable Pelléas et Mélisande at the Southbank
29 Nov 14 / Bachtrack
The orchestra was the opera’s true protagonist
29 Nov 14 / Opera Britannia
This Pelléas et Mélisande reminded just how inexhaustible and satisfying a work it is
29 Nov 14 / Classical Source
This Pelléas held great transparency
29 Nov 14 / Telegraph
One of Salonen’s finest achievements
29 Nov 14 / The Guardian
La Damnation de Faust

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 2

The real star of the evening was the RPO itself
3 May 13 / Music OMH
Faust performance overshadowed by memories of Sir Colin
3 May 13 / Seen and Heard
Der Fliegende Holländer

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 11

An extraordinary performance
23 Dec 12 / The Observer
Zurich Opera deliver a superbly energised and paradoxically joyous rendition of Wagner's tragedy
20 Dec 12 / The Guardian
Thrilling Dutchman from Terfel and Zurich Opera
19 Dec 12 / Music OMH
Bryn Terfel’s Dutchman was a towering achievement that at times threatened to blow the roof off the Royal Festival Hall
18 Dec 12 / Financial Times
Bryn Terfel and Anja Kampe were both in torrentially magnificent voice
18 Dec 12 / Telegraph
As a vehicle for Terfel’s Dutchman, the performance more than delivered
18 Dec 12 / Evening Standard
A passionately refined performance by the orchestra and thrilling singing
17 Dec 12 / What's on Stage
A thrilling evening
17 Dec 12 / Classical Source
On this occasion, we heard Terfel justify the whole performance
17 Dec 12 / Classical Iconoclast
Enter the Dutchman – in the towering, implacable form of Bryn Terfel – and enter the drama
17 Dec 12 / Edward Seckerson
Bryn Terfel by no means the only treasure on board top Swiss ship
17 Dec 12 / The Arts Desk
Il Prigioniero

Royal Festival Hall, London


No. of reviews: 3

Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero burns with a fierce, hard flame
2 Feb 12 / Telegraph
All credit to those at the Philharmonia who made this memorable concert possible
31 Jan 12 / Opera Britannia
Dallapiccola’s one-act opera is finally revealed as a masterpiece
30 Jan 12 / Financial Times
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