Category Archives: opera

Oh, Jemima!

I missed going to Bath Opera last year, but this year they won out over the concurrent Bach festival and I caught their production of Gounod’s Faust. This once-popular opera is now a relative rarity. It’s a long work, even … Continue reading

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sudden analgesic motive expressionists

See the previous comment for the source of the title. I decided to begin remedying the fact I haven’t been to any performances of Berg’s music for a while, by going to a cinecast of Wozzeck from the Metropolitan Opera. … Continue reading

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Opera at the V & A

I caught the V & A’s exhibition Opera: Power, Passion and Politics 10 days or so before it closed (which it has done now – sorry), and found it thought-provoking though not in the ‘unmissable’ category. The exhibitions centres on … Continue reading

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A benefit concert

I had a twofold reason for going to the benefit concert for Bath Minerva choir: I have sung with the choir and know many members and it was held in the theatre at the children’s school. The conductor of the … Continue reading

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a Facebook challenge

I found this list of categories on a friend’s Facebook page and feel moved to add my own contribution. I suspect I will have to duck as people read it. It runs as follows: Opera I hate: Arabella Opera I … Continue reading

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a free ticket to Cavalli

I won a pair of tickets to Cavalli’s La Calisto performed by English Touring Opera at Bath’s Theatre Royal, thanks to a competition in the Bath Chronicle. Cavalli has been chosen before by this company. La Calisto is his best-known … Continue reading

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Why I’m like Lohengrin

There was a mildly embarrassing moment at the beginning of our opera gala concert last weekend: as usual, we were all lined up in rows to process on and the names of those on the end of each row (including … Continue reading

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six gunshots

The audience for the ROH’s recent production of Lulu were warned that they would hear these towards the end of the first scene of Act II (though if you don’t already know that this work contains gunfire, you probably also … Continue reading

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MusicFest, Oxford and WNO

The Bath International Music Festival has started – not that it’s easy to tell if you walk around Bath. Apart from four banners decorated by children hanging on the south side of the Abbey, I’ve seen no street decorations at … Continue reading

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What happened in April

I apologise for the relative lack of postings recently. There’s less incentive to write when you know fewer people are going to read it, and the blog stats still aren’t anywhere near the levels they used to be before it … Continue reading

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