Canadian-born Mel Cooper came to the UK to study at Oxford and stayed, captivated by the culture and history of the welcoming and tolerant society of Britain.
He founded the magazine Opera Now. He was a consultant to the Japanese broadcaster NHK, a broadcaster on British Satellite Broadcasting and a member of the team that started Classic FM on which he broadcast shows like Classic America and Authentic Performance. After working with the Genesis Foundation on helping to fund arts projects, he continues to write, review and lecture on music and literature.
The new production of Kiss Me, Kate at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury is quite simply a triumph. I cannot begin to praise it enough. Of course, it i...
As always, Longborough’s final presentation of the year is a showcase for emerging talent. This time the production is a modernised update by director...
If you’ve never experienced the kind of performance akin to what Shakespeare must have encountered the first time he attended a play given by a troupe...
Greg Doran has directed a clean and riveting production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. It is a clear and easily accessible production of a play...
The director Martin Constantine has managed to create a brilliantly witty, surprisingly moving and totally engaging production of Mozart and Da Ponte’...
An interview by Mel Cooper with the director Paul Hart about his new production of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate opening at the Watermill Theatre near N...
The most striking and captivating thing about STONES IN HIS POCKETS is that two actors play all the parts, male and female, with great energy and pana...
Oh, dear! I am having real trouble analysing this new production of the iconic musical Hair. Partly that is because I am very familiar with the materi...
Anna Bolena is one of the great operas of the Italian romantic era. Historically, it was innovative both musically and dramatically. Among other reaso...
The Welsh National Opera have again produced a “reduced” version of an opera to tour small scale and mid-sized venues throughout this summer. Except t...
