Category Archives: going to operas

Don Giovanni: Rodin meets Velasquez

Posted on December 9, 2011 by vhk10

It’s a bit like what they say about rats: you’re never far from a performance of Don Giovanni. This is one of my favourite operas, certainly my favourite by Mozart, and shamefully I’d never seen it.  At last I took … Continue reading →

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Weber/Berlioz at the Proms

Posted on September 26, 2011 by vhk10

My husband went to the penultimate night of the Proms. It’s no longer invariably Beethoven 9; this time it was a semi-staged performance of Der Freischütz in the adaptation by Berlioz, which sets recitatives to music and uses Invitation to … Continue reading →

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I get to hear Eternal Light

Posted on April 9, 2011 by vhk10

This piece by Howard Goodall seems to be flavour of the month right now. It received two performances on the south side of Lansdown Hill within four weeks, the second being by CanZona. It formed the second part of a … Continue reading →

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Carmen at the Hippodrome

Posted on May 2, 2010 by vhk10

My daughter and I went to WNO’s Carmen at the Bristol Hippodrome – her first visit to an opera performance. The theatre was full (which caused some rather noisy air-conditioning to be turned on in the second act) and she … Continue reading →

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in the gallery – or not?

Posted on December 15, 2009 by vhk10

I went to hear Bath Minerva Choir conducted by Gavin Carr perform their seasonal concert, An English Christmas, in St Swithin’s Church, Walcot. This was the first time I’d been to a concert in this church (I gather that they … Continue reading →

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a return to Puccini

Posted on December 10, 2009 by vhk10

The first opera I ever saw was Tosca (in a Glyndebourne touring production in Oxford). Since then I haven’t been to a performance of any opera by Puccini, until WNO’s Butterfly. This is clearly the year of the monochrome opera, … Continue reading →

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a controversial video

Posted on October 15, 2009 by vhk10

I went with a friend to the performance of Berg’s Wozzeck at the Royal Festival Hall which ended the Philharmonia and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s City of Dreams season. I did some background reading for this by digging out my copy of … Continue reading →

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Requiem (1): Fauré

Posted on November 13, 2008 by vhk10

This year we did the Fauré Requiem again for All Souls. This is the third time in the lifetime of this blog that I’ve performed this piece so I’m beginning to run out of things to say about it. There … Continue reading →

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The Sacrifice

Posted on November 22, 2007 by vhk10

Welsh National Opera used to tailor letters to members of their mailing list based on what they had booked for in the past. I can see them writing to me: ‘Dear Dr Knight, We see that you have a liking … Continue reading →

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sets at the Met

Posted on October 20, 2006 by vhk10

During a visit to New York last week I went with my father-in-law to a performance of Zauberflöte at the Metropolitan Opera. I thought carefully about which opera to go to, and I was rather tempted by La Gioconda, because … Continue reading →

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a double dose of Pushkin

Posted on July 19, 2006 by vhk10

I was intrigued by Mazeppa when I heard a broadcast from the Met last winter, so I took advantage of the opportunity to go to the WNO performance at the Hippodrome in Bristol. Why is a work of this quality … Continue reading →

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the back of the conductor’s head

Posted on March 24, 2006 by vhk10

I went to the final performance of the revival of Wozzeck at the Royal Opera House. I shan’t attempt to review the performance here, but reviews are available online: e.g. the Guardian‘s or the Observer‘s. As I saw the opera … Continue reading →

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