The Graham Vicks production of FALSTAFF opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part. Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweet-toned Nanetta; Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly; Roberto Frontali as Ford, in his Act 2 scena, perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written, including Verdi's own. Haitink's conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages, gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections.

Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a man...

A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois a...

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices h...

A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Pari...

Hubert de Tartas' life becomes a complete muddle when his wife's grandfather is unearthed after havi...

An excellent performance of this delightful opera. The principals are superb, especially the sisters...

Shakespeare wrote this fantastic comedy in 1594. It features Lysander and Hermia, whose love is thwa...

With his affinity for the 16th-century sculptor Benvenuto Cellini's advocacy of artistic and persona...

Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookies, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and...

In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relent...

In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is ...

Based on a revolutionary play supposedly written by the Eternal President of the Democratic People's...

A version of Benjamin Britten's opera based on the Melville story. Will the virtuous young sailor Bi...

One of the most recognizable voices in all of modern day music, Dua Lipa quickly rose to fame. Her c...

La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant) is an operatic dramma...

The operatic version of the famous story about a governess who fears her two charges are possessed.

From the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma Terme di Caracalla "Carmen" by Georges Bizet. Director Jesus Lope...

La traviata (Italian: [la traˈviaːta], "The Fallen Woman"[1][2]) is an opera in three acts by Giusep...