The Rest of November (in the UK!)

MUSIC
Bryn Terfel showcased his new album ‘Bad Boys’ at the RFH. Part of me would have liked more opera arias and less numbers from musicals, and more of Bryn with less orchestral pieces, but in the end I was won over by the accessibility and populism he aims at and achieves and his rapport and warmth [...]

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The Rest of August (in London)

ART
A catch-up month!
Telling Tales is a small exhibition at the V&A where contemporary designers respond to three themes – forest glades, enchanted castles and heaven & hell – with narrative art / design works. It was quirky and intriguing, but I’m not sure I got the point! Radical Nature at the Barbican is an even [...]

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The Rest of July

Opera
L’Amour de loin is a strange concoction by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho; a 12th century love story played out at a distance between France and Lybia. The music is hypnotic in a Debussy-like way and the staging by a Swiss Italian better known for circus spectacles by Cirque Eloize and Cirque du Soleil includes a [...]

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The Rest of June

OPERA
At the Guildhall School of Music & Drama there was a pairing of Martinu and  Rossini one-act comic operas. I love these Guildhall opera evenings – always value and often a treat. I wasn’t mad keen on the music of the Martinu though I liked the production and performances (particularly Nicky Spence). The Rossini, an [...]

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The Rest of May

OPERA & CLASSICAL MUSIC
Handel’s Giustino, one of his 42 operas!, was given a very rare performance by Trinity College of Music in Wren’s wonderful Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich. The staging was a bit hit-and-miss but the singing was terrific. The venue has great acoustics and a wonderful atmosphere, but the pews proved a [...]

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The Rest of March

MUSIC & OPERA
Only two operas and an oratorio in a musically lean two months! Dr Atomic at ENO would have been a much better opera if he’d cut it by 30 mins (especially in the more static first half). I liked the design and staging, the music is accessible and there are some very good [...]

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The Rest of January

ART & EXHIBITIONS
What a disappointing month! I can’t really see the point of Rothko and found his Tate Modern exhibition dull. The Miereles installations and Gonzales-Foerster in the turbine hall at the same venue were only slightly more interesting. The Royal Academy’s GSK Modern was another dull affair; if this lot are the best of British [...]

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The Rest of September

I took the opportunity of a slow start to business post holiday season to catch a lot more culture than just theatre this month and here’s a summary.
The Art highlight was Seizure. Artist Roger Hiorns sealed up a disused ground floor flat, drilled a hole in the ceiling, filled it with a copper sulphate solution [...]

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Is It Curtains For The Critics? – Interviewed by The Observer

This is an article from The Observer on 13th July for which I was interviewed. You’ll have to scroll down to para 28 to find my few words of wisdom, but I’ve hightlighted them for you in case you haven’t got time !

IS IT CURTAINS FOR THE CRITICS?

An army of arts bloggers is posting internet reviews on [...]

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The Rest of May

The art treat of the month was a visit to William Morris’ house, Kelmscott Manor, in Oxfordshire. It was a private Royal Academy visit so we had time and space to take in this beautiful home. An Arts & Crafts gem.
The Linda Mccartney photo exhibition was good, if small – 40 or so photos. I’d [...]

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