UK Critics' Circle Music
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The Music Section of the UK Critics' Circle criticscircle.org.uk
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November 15, 2025 at 10:48 AM
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In case you'd like to hear WAGNER'S WOMEN but couldn't make it to the London Singers' Collective evening at National Opera Studio yesterday, I have a short-notice repeat run tomorrow, >online< at 6.30pm, for the Wagner Society of Scotland.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jessica-du...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jessica-du...
Jessica Duchen – Wagner’s Women
The topic is a look at Wagner’s path towards creating the most extraordinary female characters in the operatic world of his time.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 8:56 AM
In case you'd like to hear WAGNER'S WOMEN but couldn't make it to the London Singers' Collective evening at National Opera Studio yesterday, I have a short-notice repeat run tomorrow, >online< at 6.30pm, for the Wagner Society of Scotland.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jessica-du...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jessica-du...
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Another CD I reviewed for the November issue of Gramophone features trumpet works performed by Tine Thing Helseth, including the fine concerto Penderecki wrote in 2015, one of his last works.
November 13, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Another CD I reviewed for the November issue of Gramophone features trumpet works performed by Tine Thing Helseth, including the fine concerto Penderecki wrote in 2015, one of his last works.
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Some thoughts on Katie Mitchell's operatic farewell - the Royal Opera's Makropulos Case: www.oper-magazin.de/kritiken/auf...
Die Sache Makropulos, Royal Opera House | OPER!
Um Endlosigkeit geht es in Janáčeks Die Sache Makropulos, und darum, ein Ende machen zu können. Das tut auch Regisseurin Katie Mitchell, die sich mit dieser Inszenierung in Covent Garden von der Opern...
www.oper-magazin.de
November 13, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Some thoughts on Katie Mitchell's operatic farewell - the Royal Opera's Makropulos Case: www.oper-magazin.de/kritiken/auf...
Mark-Anthony Turnage’s new opera The Railway Children was recently given a semi-staged performance at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Here's Claudia Pritchard's review for the Critics' Circle:
criticscircle.org.uk/the-railway-...
criticscircle.org.uk/the-railway-...
The Railway Children is a first-class ride | The Critics' Circle
The Railway Children: Henna Mun (Phyllis), Jessica Cale (Bobbie), Matthew McKinney (Peter). Photo: Richard Hubert Smith After his visceral but wonderful Festen, Mark-Anthony Turnage’s operatic take on...
criticscircle.org.uk
November 13, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Mark-Anthony Turnage’s new opera The Railway Children was recently given a semi-staged performance at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Here's Claudia Pritchard's review for the Critics' Circle:
criticscircle.org.uk/the-railway-...
criticscircle.org.uk/the-railway-...
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Looking forward to talking WAGNER on Friday! With music from soprano Valerija Iljin and pianist Daniel Silcock, at the National Opera Studio.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
Wagner's Women
An exploration of the development of Richard Wagner's early operatic heroines.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Looking forward to talking WAGNER on Friday! With music from soprano Valerija Iljin and pianist Daniel Silcock, at the National Opera Studio.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
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Who doesn’t enjoy a French postcard from Spain? Reviewing the @liverpoolphil.bsky.social’s latest on Onyx: www.gramophone.co.uk/review/chabr...
November 10, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Who doesn’t enjoy a French postcard from Spain? Reviewing the @liverpoolphil.bsky.social’s latest on Onyx: www.gramophone.co.uk/review/chabr...
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Reviewed Gerd Schaller's recording of Bruckner 8 for the November issue of Gramophone. Releases of the composer have reduced significantly since the bicentenary last year. This is one of the swiftest versions of the symphony on record, but a very impressive interpretation magnificently played.
November 9, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reviewed Gerd Schaller's recording of Bruckner 8 for the November issue of Gramophone. Releases of the composer have reduced significantly since the bicentenary last year. This is one of the swiftest versions of the symphony on record, but a very impressive interpretation magnificently played.
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The November issue of Gramophone, in which I try to convince Hugo Shirley that Bernstein's recording of Der Rosenkavalier is a classic (spoiler: I fail).
November 8, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The November issue of Gramophone, in which I try to convince Hugo Shirley that Bernstein's recording of Der Rosenkavalier is a classic (spoiler: I fail).
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died on this day in 1893. I've done a few Gramophone Collections on Tchaikovsky works, but this one on Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) is the most recent: www.gramophone.co.uk/features/art...
Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades: a guide to the best recordings
Tchaikovsky’s card-game opera, based on Pushkin’s haunting novella, has received a range of treatments on stage, on film and in the studio. Mark Pullinger seeks out the ace in the pack
www.gramophone.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died on this day in 1893. I've done a few Gramophone Collections on Tchaikovsky works, but this one on Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) is the most recent: www.gramophone.co.uk/features/art...
ENO gives Jake Heggie's opera Dead Man Walking its first full staging in the UK. Review by Guy Rickards for the Critics' Circle.
criticscircle.org.uk/rage-rage-ag...
criticscircle.org.uk/rage-rage-ag...
Rage, rage, against the Dying… | The Critics' Circle
Sarah Connolly, Malachy Frame, Michael Mayes, Alaric Green, ENO’s Dead Man Walking 2025 © Manuel Harlan ENO / Kerem Hasan The Coliseum, London, November 1, 2025 I was not prepared for the sheer weight...
criticscircle.org.uk
November 6, 2025 at 8:25 PM
ENO gives Jake Heggie's opera Dead Man Walking its first full staging in the UK. Review by Guy Rickards for the Critics' Circle.
criticscircle.org.uk/rage-rage-ag...
criticscircle.org.uk/rage-rage-ag...
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The glory and the grind: The Royal Opera stages its first Makropulos Case
✍️ Mark Valencia
bachtrack.com/review-janac...
✍️ Mark Valencia
bachtrack.com/review-janac...
November 5, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The glory and the grind: The Royal Opera stages its first Makropulos Case
✍️ Mark Valencia
bachtrack.com/review-janac...
✍️ Mark Valencia
bachtrack.com/review-janac...
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My review of The Makropulos Case at the Royal Opera House: www.gramophone.co.uk/opera-now/re...
Janáček: The Makropulos Case at the Royal Opera | Live Review
Mitchell’s production raises the dramatic intensity, and the narrative complexity, the results continuously provocative and confrontational
www.gramophone.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
My review of The Makropulos Case at the Royal Opera House: www.gramophone.co.uk/opera-now/re...
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When I think about what contemporary opera can and should be - and whether "contemporary popular opera" could ever be a thing, I always think of Dead Man Walking: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Dead Man Walking is modern opera at its finest - and it's cheaper than the West End
The story of a nun's friendship with a death row murderer was long overdue a UK run, and ENO are just right for the job
inews.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 10:12 AM
When I think about what contemporary opera can and should be - and whether "contemporary popular opera" could ever be a thing, I always think of Dead Man Walking: inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
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Looking forward enormously to doing a little Wagner evening...I'll be talking about Wagner's musical cauldron and the soprano Valerija Iljin sings extracts from Senta, Elisabeth, Sieglinde and the Wesendonck Lieder. 14 Nov, National Opera Studio
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
Wagner's Women
An exploration of the development of Richard Wagner's early operatic heroines.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Looking forward enormously to doing a little Wagner evening...I'll be talking about Wagner's musical cauldron and the soprano Valerija Iljin sings extracts from Senta, Elisabeth, Sieglinde and the Wesendonck Lieder. 14 Nov, National Opera Studio
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wagners-wo...
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Two Nilssons for the price of one: my report @Bachtrack from the award of the Birgit Nilsson Prize to the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. 📸Maja Brandt
bachtrack.com/review-malkk...
bachtrack.com/review-malkk...
October 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Two Nilssons for the price of one: my report @Bachtrack from the award of the Birgit Nilsson Prize to the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. 📸Maja Brandt
bachtrack.com/review-malkk...
bachtrack.com/review-malkk...
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Alexei Ratmansky’s Callirhoe is massive fun at the Wiener Staatsballett
Review 👇
bachtrack.com/review-calli...
Review 👇
bachtrack.com/review-calli...
October 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Alexei Ratmansky’s Callirhoe is massive fun at the Wiener Staatsballett
Review 👇
bachtrack.com/review-calli...
Review 👇
bachtrack.com/review-calli...
ENO's first ever production of Britten's Albert Herring reviewed by Guy Rickards for the Critics' Circle. A very limited run in London and Salford - catch it while you can.
criticscircle.org.uk/modesty-mora...
criticscircle.org.uk/modesty-mora...
Modesty, morality, and Manchester—Albert Herring finally arrives at ENO, albeit briefly | The Critics' Circle
Eddie Wade and Caspar Singh celebrate Albert’s “coronation”, ENO’s Albert Herring 2025 © Genevieve Girling ENO / Daniel Cohen The Coliseum, London, October 13, 2025 Of Britten’s sixteen operas (if one...
criticscircle.org.uk
October 15, 2025 at 2:24 PM
ENO's first ever production of Britten's Albert Herring reviewed by Guy Rickards for the Critics' Circle. A very limited run in London and Salford - catch it while you can.
criticscircle.org.uk/modesty-mora...
criticscircle.org.uk/modesty-mora...
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What does English National Opera's
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
ENO takes a risk with its first Manchester show – but it pays off
Britten's Albert Herring is a bold choice to open their new chapter, but this cracker of a show proves the relocation might just come off
inews.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 1:10 PM
What does English National Opera's
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
Albert Herring tell us about the company's future, its challenges and ambitions? Some thoughts on this cracking show for the I Paper:
inews.co.uk/culture/arts...
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A very fine house debut from Marie Jacquot in this excellent Royal Opera Magic Flute revival
My @thetimes.com review is now online:
www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...
My @thetimes.com review is now online:
www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...
The Magic Flute review — misogyny, Freemasonry and some fine singing
Marie Jacquot makes a splendid Royal Opera House debut conducting a wonderful cast in this delightful Mozart revival
www.thetimes.com
October 12, 2025 at 10:36 PM
A very fine house debut from Marie Jacquot in this excellent Royal Opera Magic Flute revival
My @thetimes.com review is now online:
www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...
My @thetimes.com review is now online:
www.thetimes.com/culture/clas...
Bizet's Carmen at ENO reviewed by Guy Rickards: criticscircle.org.uk/carmen-is-ba...
Carmen is back—door slams, machismo and great tunes | The Critics' Circle
Niamh O’Sullivan, ENO’s Soldier Chorus, Carmen production photo taken on October 6 2025 at ENO, London Coliseum, © Ellie Kurttz ENO / Clelia Cafiero The Coliseum, London, October 8, 2025 Calixto Bieit...
criticscircle.org.uk
October 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Bizet's Carmen at ENO reviewed by Guy Rickards: criticscircle.org.uk/carmen-is-ba...
The Royal Opera's new production of Handel's Giustino reviewed by Claudia Pritchard:
criticscircle.org.uk/royal-operas...
criticscircle.org.uk/royal-operas...
Royal Opera's Giustino is just the ticket | The Critics' Circle
Half man, half machine, George Frideric Handel broke off in the autumn of 1736 from the composition of Giustino, three weeks in, to write Alcina, then went back to finish Giustino in five days. Within...
criticscircle.org.uk
October 11, 2025 at 11:17 AM
The Royal Opera's new production of Handel's Giustino reviewed by Claudia Pritchard:
criticscircle.org.uk/royal-operas...
criticscircle.org.uk/royal-operas...
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Sakari Oramo guided the BBCSO through a life-affirming Mahler 9 at the Barbican on Saturday - my ★★★★ review for Bachtrack here:
bachtrack.com/22/296/view/...
bachtrack.com/22/296/view/...
October 6, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Sakari Oramo guided the BBCSO through a life-affirming Mahler 9 at the Barbican on Saturday - my ★★★★ review for Bachtrack here:
bachtrack.com/22/296/view/...
bachtrack.com/22/296/view/...
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Coming up on Friday: Lara Melda and I tell the story of Myra Hess in the National Gallery, in, what else, a lunchtime concert. We will be in the same space she used, Room 36! Admission freeeeee. Please join us!
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/myra-...
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/myra-...
Myra Hess Festival: Lunchtime Concert 2025 - Jessica Duchen and Lara Melda | Events | National Gallery, London
Jessica Duchen, author of Myra Hess – National Treasure, joins forces with the award-winning pianist Lara Melda to tell the inspiring story of Myra Hess and her wartime National Gallery Concerts in wo...
www.nationalgallery.org.uk
October 6, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Coming up on Friday: Lara Melda and I tell the story of Myra Hess in the National Gallery, in, what else, a lunchtime concert. We will be in the same space she used, Room 36! Admission freeeeee. Please join us!
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/myra-...
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/myra-...
The Cuore Chamber Orchestra, based in Yorksire, was founded in May by conductor William Dutton. Fiona Hook reviews their most recent concert for the Critics' Circle:
criticscircle.org.uk/cuore-orches...
criticscircle.org.uk/cuore-orches...
Cuore Orchestra: Beethoven, Grieg, Mendelssohn | The Critics' Circle
By Fiona Hook Cuore Orchestra / William Dutton, Oxana Shevchenko, piano Royal Hall, Harrogate, Saturday 27 September 2025 Back in March, conductor William Dutton began to fulfil his apparently crazy d...
criticscircle.org.uk
October 6, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The Cuore Chamber Orchestra, based in Yorksire, was founded in May by conductor William Dutton. Fiona Hook reviews their most recent concert for the Critics' Circle:
criticscircle.org.uk/cuore-orches...
criticscircle.org.uk/cuore-orches...