| Barbican, London - London | 21 January 2021 |
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Der FreischützBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 5 | |
Laurence Equilbey leads a marvellous performance of Der Freischütz |
 7 Nov 19 / Seen and Heard |
The evening reaffirmed the stature of Weber’s opera. |
| 7 Nov 19 / Classical Source |
Semi-staging short on drama but delivers star singers |
| 6 Nov 19 / The Guardian |
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A performance that ultimately felt as lovingly rendered as it was thoughtfully produced |
| 6 Nov 19 / Music OMH |
Gothic chills rooted in flesh and earth |
| 6 Nov 19 / The Arts Desk |
Miss JulieBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 4 | |
The singing was of the highest quality |
| 8 Oct 19 / Opera Today |
The music proves extremely evocative |
| 7 Oct 19 / Music OMH |
Alwyn's Miss Julie rescued from the operatic desert |
| 5 Oct 19 / Bachtrack |
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Sakari Oramo's revival brims with colour and verve |
| 5 Oct 19 / The Guardian |
Le nozze di FigaroBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 1 | |
Richard Egarr leads a very involving concert performance of Le nozze di Figaro |
| 9 Jul 19 / Seen and Heard |
AgrippinaBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 6 | |
DiDonato reigned supreme |
| 10 Jun 19 / The Observer |
Gripping Agrippina from Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro |
| 8 Jun 19 / Seen and Heard |
DiDonato and Il pomo d'oro make Handel's Agrippina sparkle at the Barbican |
| 3 Jun 19 / Bachtrack |
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Over-the-top comic brilliance |
| 3 Jun 19 / The Arts Desk |
Il “Circo itinerante” di Joyce Di Donato, nel suo tour europeo, ha piantato le tende a Londra |
| 3 Jun 19 / Opera secondo me |
Crisp, vibrant proof that Handel still has comic bounce |
| 3 Jun 19 / Telegraph |
CandideBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 5 | |
This performance was ultimately as classy as it was fun |
| 12 Dec 18 / Music OMH |
The playing produced that unmistakable sheen of glamour and style, bags of both |
| 12 Dec 18 / Classical Source |
Missing too many bullseyes: Bernstein's Candide semi-staged by the LSO |
| 11 Dec 18 / Bachtrack |
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Candide forms a fitting climax to the LSO’s celebration of the Bernstein centenary |
| 11 Dec 18 / Seen and Heard |
The best of all possible productions |
| 11 Dec 18 / Telegraph |
Dido and AeneasBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 5 | |
Stark and grief-stricken |
| 5 Oct 18 / Bachtrack |
Caitlin Hulcup’s smooth, plush mezzo communicated the queen’s struggles, conflicts and uncertainties |
| 5 Oct 18 / Opera Today |
A Funeral for the Queen of Carthage is a remarkable evening of Purcell |
| 5 Oct 18 / Seen and Heard |
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A freewheeling, fresh take on Purcell |
| 5 Oct 18 / The Guardian |
Guthrie’s production successfully evoked the broader and human ethos of Purcell’s drama |
| 5 Oct 18 / Classical Source |
Dead Man WalkingBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 10 | |
La ópera de la redención |
| 7 Mar 18 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish) |
Strong performances from all the cast |
| 26 Feb 18 / Express |
A stellar cast made a work of art greater than the sum of its parts |
| 22 Feb 18 / The Times |
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Crime, punishment, forgiveness, redemption: Dead Man Walking finally reaches London |
| 22 Feb 18 / Bachtrack |
The full house at the Barbican Hall collectively held its breath as the process of Joe’s eventual redemption worked itself out |
| 22 Feb 18 / Classical Source |
UK première of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at the Barbican |
| 22 Feb 18 / Seen and Heard |
Grabbed us by the throat and never let go |
| 22 Feb 18 / Independent |
Death-row drama with more breast-beating than psychological insight |
| 22 Feb 18 / Telegraph |
Extraordinarily powerful |
| 22 Feb 18 / Financial Times (via Google) |
Dead Man Walking receives its UK premiere |
| 22 Feb 18 / Music OMH |
La Damnation de FaustBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 7 | |
El maestro y Margarita |
| 25 Sep 17 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish) |
Simon Rattle’s on a roll |
| 25 Sep 17 / The Observer |
Rattle pulled out all the stops for a concert performance of Berlioz’s opera The Damnation Of Faust |
| 24 Sep 17 / Express |
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Blazing Berlioz at the Barbican Hall |
| 22 Sep 17 / Opera Today |
Rattle leads the LSO on a thrilling ride into the abyss |
| 20 Sep 17 / Bachtrack |
Sunday evening’s performance was a tour de force |
| 20 Sep 17 / Music OMH |
Simon Rattle pulled off a remarkably vigorous account of The Damnation of Faust |
| 20 Sep 17 / Classical Source |
AriodanteBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 8 | |
Contains some of Handel's most extraordinary depictions of derangement |
| 23 May 17 / Independent |
Alice Coote e chiaramente una cantante handeliana di esperienza |
| 20 May 17 / Opera secondo me |
Even after a long evening this superb account of Ariodante leaves one wanting more |
| 20 May 17 / Seen and Heard |
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Alice Coote delivered a brilliantly engaging and emotional rendition of ‘Scherza infida’ |
| 19 May 17 / Music OMH |
A marvellous Ariodante at the Barbican Hall |
| 18 May 17 / Opera Today |
By far the most interesting portrayal came from Sonia Prina as the villain, Polinesso |
| 18 May 17 / Classical Source |
Alice Coote plunged uninhibitedly into the title role of Handel’s opera |
| 18 May 17 / Financial Times (via Google) |
This concert performance offered Handel as an Almodóvar ensemble piece, comic and tragic in equal measure and gloriously uninhibited |
| 18 May 17 / The Times |
Le grand macabreBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 15 | |
The London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre is on a high |
| 22 Jan 17 / Express |
Apocalypse now? |
| 21 Jan 17 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish) |
Anthony Roth Costanzo stood out as Prince Go-Go |
| 20 Jan 17 / Music OMH |
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A memorable evening, though not one I’d want to repeat |
| 20 Jan 17 / The Spectator |
Joyeux bordel |
| 19 Jan 17 / Forum Opéra |
La fin du monde n’aura pas lieu |
| 19 Jan 17 / Altamusica |
Le Grand Macabre is certainly Ligeti's most sustained and demanding piece |
| 19 Jan 17 / Opera Journal |
Madcap brilliance |
| 18 Jan 17 / Financial Times (via Google) |
Sellars brings muddle but Rattle, beauty |
| 17 Jan 17 / The Guardian |
Sellars couldn’t find the work’s throbbing political pulse |
| 17 Jan 17 / Independent |
Skill and precision |
| 17 Jan 17 / The Stage |
Le Grand Macabre at the Barbican: surreal, madcap, touching the sublime |
| 17 Jan 17 / Bachtrack |
Simon Rattle leads an outstanding concert performance of Le grand macabre |
| 16 Jan 17 / Seen and Heard |
Demi-staging of Ligeti's apocalypse-maybe hits hard but misses the wit and brio |
| 16 Jan 17 / The Arts Desk |
The breathtaking quality of the LSO’s playing only reconfirmed the opera and its composer as giants of modern music |
| 15 Jan 17 / Classical Source |
associated articles [+]
The perfect show for the Donald Trump era
Le Grand Macabre opera is the perfect show for the Donald Trump era, says its director, Peter Sellars.
Le Grand Macabre opera is the perfect show for the Donald Trump era, says its director, Peter Sellars.
The Fairy QueenBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 10 | |
Purcell’s ravishing music battled it out with brooms |
| 17 Oct 16 / The Observer |
The general effect is messy but musically of a high order |
| 16 Oct 16 / Express |
The cast seemed to enjoy themselves |
| 15 Oct 16 / Opera Today |
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The music making was of an especially high standard |
| 14 Oct 16 / Music OMH |
Musically a triumph but the production tried too hard |
| 13 Oct 16 / Seen and Heard |
Staging Purcell's Fairy Queen: an ingenious solution at the Barbican |
| 13 Oct 16 / Bachtrack |
Iestyn Davies is an absolute treat in this radical Fairy Queen |
| 12 Oct 16 / Telegraph |
Brave attempt to tame Purcell's tricky drama |
| 12 Oct 16 / The Guardian |
The evening was a delightful succession of phantasmagoric tableaux |
| 12 Oct 16 / Independent |
A coherent if unorthodox production |
| 12 Oct 16 / Classical Source |
Adelson e SalviniBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 9 | |
Was Opera Rara justified in reviving Bellini’s first opera? Oh yes |
| 17 May 16 / The Spectator |
Daniela Barcellona was excellent as Nelly |
| 16 May 16 / Music OMH |
Bellini wrote this, his first opera, in 1824 while a student at the Naples Conservatory |
| 15 May 16 / Express |
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Opera Rara unearths a naive Bellini gem at the Barbican |
| 14 May 16 / Telegraph |
Adelson e Salvini certainly does not lack dramatic incident |
| 14 May 16 / Opera Today |
Opera Rara had assembled a fine cast for the lesser-known work |
| 13 May 16 / Classical Source |
A curious and uneven Bellini rarity, beautifully performed |
| 13 May 16 / The Guardian |
A dispiriting evening |
| 13 May 16 / Opera Britannia |
Where Bellini started: Opera Rara's Adelson e Salvini |
| 13 May 16 / Bachtrack |
Written on SkinBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 5 | |
If I could, I would award this opera 7 stars |
| 31 Mar 16 / Opera Britannia |
This is confident writing in skin from a composer entirely bien dans sa peau |
| 22 Mar 16 / Boulezian |
What a wonderful opera Written on Skin is |
| 21 Mar 16 / Classical Source |
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An erotic yet brutal meditation on art |
| 21 Mar 16 / The Guardian |
Signed off with an orchestral flourish |
| 21 Mar 16 / Bachtrack |
Pelléas et MélisandeBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 13 | |
Pélleas y Simon entre Berlin y Londres |
| 20 Jan 16 / Mundo Clásico (Spanish) |
A most compelling evening |
| 19 Jan 16 / Express |
Symphonie avec voix |
| 17 Jan 16 / Altamusica |
more reviews [+]
Powerful and upsetting |
| 15 Jan 16 / The Spectator |
When, o when, will someone put Peter Sellars and his compendium of clichés out of our misery? |
| 14 Jan 16 / Opera Today |
Less is more |
| 14 Jan 16 / The Critics' Circle |
Rattle draws shimmering beauty from the forest |
| 12 Jan 16 / Evening Standard |
Rattle delivered a focused and precise, yet notably sumptuous, account of Debussy’s enigmatic score |
| 12 Jan 16 / Music OMH |
Rattle's moving statement of intent |
| 11 Jan 16 / The Guardian |
Irresistible |
| 11 Jan 16 / Telegraph |
Underpinning the evening was the LSO’s endlessly allusive, subtle playing |
| 11 Jan 16 / Classical Source |
Rattle has certainly rethought the opera since he last conducted it at the ROH in 2007 |
| 11 Jan 16 / Opera Britannia |
Rattle and Sellars revisit Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande |
| 11 Jan 16 / Bachtrack |
TamerlanoBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 5 | |
A huge slice of Handel: Tamerlano from Il Pomo d'Oro at the Barbican |
| 12 Nov 15 / Bachtrack |
As Tamerlano, Mr Sabata rolled his Italian ‘r’s with a vengeance |
| 12 Nov 15 / Opera Britannia |
Well sung and played but lacking in drama |
| 12 Nov 15 / Seen and Heard |
more reviews [+]
A hit and miss evening |
| 12 Nov 15 / The Guardian |
There was not a palpable sense of commitment to Tamerlano as a musical-dramatic work |
| 11 Nov 15 / Classical Source |
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patriaBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 5 | |
The closing image of a circle of gentle light - Penelope within, Ulisse without - was compelling |
| 6 Oct 15 / Opera Today |
Elizabeth Watts threw everything into her brilliant portrayal of Minerva |
| 2 Oct 15 / Music OMH |
Ian Bostridge brings richness amid reflection |
| 1 Oct 15 / The Guardian |
more reviews [+]
Ian Bostridge is compelling as Ulisse in Monteverdi’s opera |
| 1 Oct 15 / Financial Times (via Google) |
A successful conclusion to this Monteverdi series |
| 1 Oct 15 / Classical Source |
Duke Bluebeard's CastleBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 3 | |
Karabits’ pacing of the hour-long work was masterly |
| 17 Mar 15 / Music OMH |
Bluebeard’s Castle was given a fine performance |
| 17 Mar 15 / Boulezian |
A viscerally exciting Bluebeard’s Castle |
| 15 Mar 15 / Classical Source |
Alice in WonderlandBarbican, LondonNo. of reviews: 11 | |
Unsuk Chin’s Alice is lost in music |
| 16 Mar 15 / The Observer |
Too much miaowing |
| 13 Mar 15 / The Spectator |
Baldur Brönniman’s unflappable, eagle-eyed conducting was boundless |
| 11 Mar 15 / Classical Source |
more reviews [+]
You have to be in the right mood to enjoy this piece |
| 11 Mar 15 / Opera Britannia |
Unsuk Chin’s score is dazzling |
| 10 Mar 15 / Evening Standard |
An opera 'Alice' in London, worthy of the book's 150th |
| 10 Mar 15 / Reuters |
The Korean composer's trippy adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic is a loud and garish nightmare |
| 10 Mar 15 / Telegraph |
Netia Jones’s ingenious staging can’t disguise dramatic flaws |
| 10 Mar 15 / The Guardian |
Zany, anarchic and subversive, and also hilariously funny |
| 10 Mar 15 / Opera Today |
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News & Articles
| Barbican's 2008-09 programme announced |
Handel and Purcell operas, Keenlyside and Kirchschlager, Quasthoff and Chailly flank new season. |
| 2 Nov 2007 / Musical Criticism |
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