Royal College of Music - London | 23 April 2021 |

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Performance reviews
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Il mondo della lunaRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
The cast is excellent, with several outstanding performances |
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This underrated work bubbles with irresistible colour and vitality, as does the production |
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RCM’s singers brim with youthful vivacity and enthusiam in a fabulous Haydn Il mondo della luna |
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Trouble in TahitiRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
A Berkeley/Bernstein double bill not to be missed |
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Stephen Unwin’s productions nail the Fifties efficiently |
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A Dinner EngagementRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
A Berkeley/Bernstein double bill not to be missed |
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Stephen Unwin’s productions nail the Fifties efficiently |
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Robinson CrusoeRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
Desert island delights at the RCM |
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A hugely engaging production of an irrepressibly tuneful piece |
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Who knew desert islands could be such tuneful fun? Offenbach's Robinson Crusoe at the RCM |
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Le nozze di FigaroRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
A lively, enthusiastic young cast for the RCM’s Figaro |
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Sir Thomas Allen directs Figaro at the Royal College of Music |
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A sparkling evening |
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In the Locked RoomRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
A primitive affair with a door standing alone on the stage |
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Powerful & emotional stuff |
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Tremendous stuff |
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The LighthouseRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
As ghost operas go this is quite a page-turner |
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Powerful & emotional stuff |
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Tremendous stuff |
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A Midsummer Night's DreamRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 4 | ![]() |
A double helping of Titania, Bottom and friends |
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Steel’s production has surprisingly scant dark disorder and no midsummer magic |
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Having your Midsummer Night’s Dream and eating it |
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more reviews [+]
Benjamin Britten's recurring Dream, this time at the Royal College of Music |
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The Cunning Little VixenRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Harriet Eyley is a triumph as the Vixen |
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Woodland tales |
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Les Mamelles de TiresiasRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Two short stage-works at either end of the French comic spectrum |
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A French double-bill at the Royal College of Music |
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Une Education ManquéeRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Two short stage-works at either end of the French comic spectrum |
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A French double-bill at the Royal College of Music |
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Les Fêtes d'HébéRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 10 | ![]() |
This ambitious production offered visual and aural enjoyment |
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Rameau’s music is beautiful and plangent at times but his mythological subject matter is not involving |
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Jonathan Williams is one of the top Rameau experts in the country – and it showed |
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more reviews [+]
Les Fêtes d'Hébé is an unconvincing, unexceptional opéra-ballet |
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Lebrun’s rather basic choreography proves curate’s-eggish |
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Rameau wanted to charm and delight, and this succeeds |
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This charming production erfectly captured the élan of the original |
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A production of Rameau’s opera that was a pleasing example of European co-operation |
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A for effort, but mixed achievement for an ambitious Les fêtes d'Hébé |
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Performances of Rameau's operas remain scarce, especially in the UK |
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associated articles [+]
Rameau’s Les Fêtes d’Hébé: making a song and dance about it
It’s taken almost 300 years for the French composer’s genre-crossing opéra-ballet to come to the UK, with a Royal College of Music staging opening tomorrow. Why the wait?
It’s taken almost 300 years for the French composer’s genre-crossing opéra-ballet to come to the UK, with a Royal College of Music staging opening tomorrow. Why the wait?
La finta giardinieraRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
Michael Rosewell conducted with meticulous control |
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Fehr has created a beguiling comic caper |
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Ensemble was tight throughout |
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Hansel und GretelRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
Myriddin Wannell’s designs featuring video cartoons of dismembered and tortured dolls are gruesome indeed |
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Outstanding, definitive Hänsel und Gretel at RCM worth seeing twice |
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Out of all the deprivation and greed, the four main roles made their mark |
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AriodanteRoyal College of MusicLondon Handel FestivalNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
Worth attending purely to hear British players under Laurence Cummings’ direction |
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Laurence Cummings urged the proceedings onwards at a brisk lick |
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Well-sung but badly directed |
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more reviews [+]
Katie Coventry easily secured the fireworks of Ariodante's part |
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Ariodante at the RCM: in which technique is not enough |
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Die FledermausRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Cast B was thoroughly well rehearsed and completely at ease with their characters |
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Peaches and Cream: A frothy Fledermaus at the Royal College of Music |
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Albert HerringRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 3 | ![]() |
A very wicked village |
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Strikingly imaginative version of this modern classic |
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Nick Pritchard’s Albert easily presided over the whole evening |
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Adriano in SiriaRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 7 | ![]() |
Entertaining, absorbing and much more than a scholar’s pet |
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Dramatic revival |
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A worthy revival of J.C. Bach's Adriano in Siria by Classical Opera |
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more reviews [+]
An assured account of JC Bach’s forgotten work |
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As Adriano, mezzo-soprano Rowan Hellier was appropriately restless and headstrong |
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The music itself is hardly a forgotten gem |
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The ‘London’ Bach opera was last performed 250 years ago |
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Giove in ArgoRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 8 | ![]() |
A lost Handel opera proves a revelation |
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An evening of sheer delight |
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Opera compiled from Handel’s earlier arias returns to the London stage for the first time in 276 years |
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The most exciting revelation of all was the singing of Russian, soprano, Galina Averina |
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Lost in the woods |
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An outstanding cast brings plenty of charisma to this sexy, unsettling piece of music theatre |
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Cummings and his ensemble amply demonstrated its musical quality and dramatic viability |
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The first modern-day performance of a little-known Handel opera |
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Die ZauberflöteRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 1 | ![]() |
Singing is in fine voice at the Royal College of Music, to judge from its Magic Flute |
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Arianna in CretaRoyal College of MusicLondon Handel FestivalNo. of reviews: 5 | ![]() |
A wonderful evening featuring young soloists garnered from the Royal College’s International Opera School |
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The opera reminded us why it is often neglected but the heroic arias are among Handel’s best |
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This production makes a strong case for its revival |
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more reviews [+]
All lovers of Baroque opera should see this Handelian rarity |
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This opera's characters and drama are far from convincing, but it was beautifully performed |
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La Vie ParisienneRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 1 | ![]() |
If operetta floats your boat, this production is worth catching |
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L'incoronazione di PoppeaRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
Monteverdi’s shabby little shocker in high places is a sitting duck for radical rethinking |
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Monteverdi masterpiece with Lulu-like heroine |
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Le nozze di FigaroRoyal College of MusicNo. of reviews: 2 | ![]() |
A ‘traditional’ Le Nozze di Figaro |
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This is a Figaro that presses all the right buttons |
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News & Articles
Rameau’s Les Fêtes d’Hébé: making a song and dance about it |
It’s taken almost 300 years for the French composer’s genre-crossing opéra-ballet to come to the UK, with a Royal College of Music staging opening tomorrow. Why the wait? |
![]() |