| Birmingham Opera Company - Birmingham | 21 January 2020 |
click here for a gallery of photos from recent productions
click here for more photos for
there are no videos for thisopera company
You've been granted free access to this page.
Take a FREE 7 DAY TRIAL or SUBSCRIBE today to access the full content of theoperacritic.com.
Free access
Performance reviews
| Key | 
Photo gallery
|
Production details
|
Video link
|
Lady Macbeth of MtsenskBirmingham Opera CompanyNo. of reviews: 6 | |
Raw, frightening, overwhelming |
 22 Mar 19 / The Spectator |
Birmingham Opera Company excels with an unforgettable Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk |
| 17 Mar 19 / The Observer |
The ambience resembled one favoured by Oliver Stone when filming Natural Born Killers |
| 14 Mar 19 / Classical Source |
more reviews [+]
A blast of pure energy |
| 13 Mar 19 / The Guardian |
Effing, blinding and flamboyant theatrics |
| 13 Mar 19 / Telegraph |
Filthy, fabulous immersive opera |
| 13 Mar 19 / The Stage |
WakeBirmingham Opera CompanyNo. of reviews: 2 | |
This ambitious new opera about Lazarus is an epic musical failure |
| 16 Mar 18 / The Times |
Birmingham Opera Company breathe life into Lazarus tale |
| 16 Mar 18 / The Guardian |
The Ice BreakBirmingham Opera CompanyNo. of reviews: 5 | |
Rebirth of Tippett’s The Ice Break in a Birmingham warehouse |
| 13 Apr 15 / Seen and Heard |
A vividly theatrical and exhilarating experience |
| 9 Apr 15 / Classical Source |
A masterpiece |
| 6 Apr 15 / The Birmingham Post |
more reviews [+]
Race riots and pill-popping |
| 6 Apr 15 / The Guardian |
Michael Tippett’s fourth opera deserves to have been withdrawn from cold storage |
| 5 Apr 15 / Telegraph |
associated articles [+]
Tippett's The Ice Break – time to take it out of cold storage
Unloved and unstaged in the UK since its 1977 premiere, a new production by Birmingham Opera Company is just what Tippett’s The Ice Break needs to rehabilitate a work of quality and resonance.
Unloved and unstaged in the UK since its 1977 premiere, a new production by Birmingham Opera Company is just what Tippett’s The Ice Break needs to rehabilitate a work of quality and resonance.
Birmingham Opera Company's to perform in warehouse
Birmingham Opera Company will perform The Ice Break by Michael Tippett in a Digbeth warehouse.
Birmingham Opera Company will perform The Ice Break by Michael Tippett in a Digbeth warehouse.
The Khovansky Files: A National EnquiryBirmingham Opera CompanyNo. of reviews: 5 | |
A heartfelt reworking of Mussorgsky's epic Khovanshchina |
| 27 Apr 14 / The Observer |
Mussorgsky's epic arguably gets one too many contemporary glosses in Birmingham Opera Company's new staging |
| 24 Apr 14 / The Guardian |
Khovanskygate is a version of Mussorgsky's opera with irresistible imaginative panache |
| 24 Apr 14 / Telegraph |
more reviews [+]
Musorgsky problem opera takes on new life in the big top |
| 24 Apr 14 / The Arts Desk |
Graham Vick’s provocative adaptation of Mussorgsky’s opera casts a powerful spell |
| 24 Apr 14 / Financial Times (via Google) |
Mittwoch aus LichtBirmingham Opera CompanyNo. of reviews: 12 | |
A hit-and-miss affair |
| 7 Sep 12 / Telegraph |
Mittwoch as a whole isn’t a whole, it’s a hotchpotch |
| 29 Aug 12 / Independent |
Stockhausen's 'Mittwoch' by Birmingham Opera Company is otherworldly |
| 28 Aug 12 / Los Angeles Times |
more reviews [+]
What a whirl! |
| 26 Aug 12 / Independent on Sunday |
It was a technological triumph but not a musical one |
| 26 Aug 12 / The Observer |
Cue the helicopter quartet |
| 25 Aug 12 / Financial Times (via Google) |
This production will linger long in the memory |
| 25 Aug 12 / Classical Source |
String quartets in helicopters and passages of dazzling virtuosity make this a dazzling show |
| 24 Aug 12 / Telegraph |
Helicopters disappoint in an otherwise thrilling Stockhausen world premiere |
| 24 Aug 12 / The Arts Desk |
Fliegende Streicher und ekstatische Gesten |
| 24 Aug 12 / Deutschland Radio |
A wildly ambitious project |
| 24 Aug 12 / The Stage |
Vick's staging is a triumph of logistics |
| 23 Aug 12 / The Guardian |
associated articles [+]
Stockhausen’s Mittwoch Aus Licht:Opera with real altitude
It has musicians in helicopters and in mid-air, seagull noises and a camel. Neil McCormick looks forward to Stockhausen's Mittwoch Aus Licht in Birmingham.
It has musicians in helicopters and in mid-air, seagull noises and a camel. Neil McCormick looks forward to Stockhausen's Mittwoch Aus Licht in Birmingham.
The last unperformed Stockhausen opera lifts off
The strings play in helicopters, the trumpeter's on a trapeze, and a camel dances around while defecating planets. Alexis Petridis on Birmingham Opera Company's bid to stage a mind-boggling Stockhausen opera.
The strings play in helicopters, the trumpeter's on a trapeze, and a camel dances around while defecating planets. Alexis Petridis on Birmingham Opera Company's bid to stage a mind-boggling Stockhausen opera.
Life is a DreamBirmingham Opera CompanyNo. of reviews: 5 | |
Birmingham Opera Company’s adaptation of Calderon’s 1635 play is a Dream that's both good and bad |
| 6 Apr 12 / Telegraph |
Thrilling and disturbing |
| 1 Apr 12 / Independent on Sunday |
A big, richly dramatic opera with a compelling plot |
| 31 Mar 12 / The Post Bulletin |
more reviews [+]
Life Is a Dream could be a perfect operatic subject, but this doesn't begin to measure up |
| 23 Mar 12 / The Guardian |
An enthralling and surreal parade |
| 22 Mar 12 / Telegraph |
| No more reviews |
Reviews search
Performance schedule
No future performances found
News & Articles
| Royal Philharmonic Society award winners |
Nina Stemme, Birmingham Opera Company win big at Royal Philharmonic Society awards. |
| 30 Nov 2019 / OperaWire |
| Tippett's The Ice Break – time to take it out of cold storage |
Unloved and unstaged in the UK since its 1977 premiere, a new production by Birmingham Opera Company is just what Tippett’s The Ice Break needs to rehabilitate a work of quality and resonance. |
| 4 Apr 2015 / The Guardian |
| Birmingham Opera Company's to perform in warehouse |
Birmingham Opera Company will perform The Ice Break by Michael Tippett in a Digbeth warehouse. |
| 31 Mar 2015 / The Birmingham Post |
| Mittwoch aus Licht awarded RPS prize |
Royal Philharmonic Society praises rare performance of Mittwoch aus Licht by Birmingham Opera Company. |
| 15 May 2013 / The Guardian |
| Stockhausen’s Mittwoch Aus Licht:Opera with real altitude |
It has musicians in helicopters and in mid-air, seagull noises and a camel. Neil McCormick looks forward to Stockhausen's Mittwoch Aus Licht in Birmingham. |
| 22 Aug 2012 / Telegraph |
 |