Mazeppa Tim Hochstrasser 19/06/2025It is truly surprising that Mazeppa (1884) is not better known. It is work of Tchaikovsky’s maturity and full of...
Madama Butterfly Owen Davies 12/06/2025This opera may be one of Puccini’s finest musically but the story is centred on another of his doomed heroines...
Saul Tim Hochstrasser 11/06/2025As a veteran browser of second-hand bookshops, I grew used to seeing piles of faded old Novello vocal scores of...
Simon Boccanegra Josi Steinfeld 09/06/2025This Simon Boccanegra is a triumph: musically rich, theatrically bold, and imaginatively staged. With a top-tier cast, innovative design, and...
The Queen of Spades Tim Hochstrasser 03/06/2025The Queen of Spades/Pique Dame (1890) is a classic case of where literature and opera part company with independently successful results....
Beyond the Libretto: How Music Tells Women’s Stories in Opera Rivka Jacobson 03/06/2025Opera Holland Park’s 2025 season opens with Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, closes with Verdi’s La Traviata, and, in between, presents...
L’elisir d’amore David Buchler 02/06/2025Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore is often treated as the operatic equivalent of a chilled Aperol spritz – light, effervescent, and perfect...
Parsifal Tim Hochstrasser 21/05/2025This production is a first in a number of ways. It is the first time Wagner’s final opera has received...
La Manékine SofÃa Danailov Esteban 15/01/2025La Manékine is a gripping story where light intersects with darkness, and joy meets despair. Blending puppetry, storytelling, and a...
La Bohème Josi Steinfeld 18/11/2024In March 1893, shortly after the premiere of Manon Lescaut, Puccini met fellow composer Ruggiero Leoncavallo in a café. Puccini...
