Djamileh, Bizet’s first mature opera, came right before Carmen. Its music is rich, sensual and beautifully orchestrated, totally worth the listening.
Opera Articles
The art of training and developing the voice
The great dramatic tenor James McCray offers his thoughts on some misunderstandings in the modern way of training the voice.
Does size matter?
Who says opera should only be staged and performed by big opera houses?
Small opera companies have the capacity to refuel people’s attention on this art, breaking the rituals and engaging new and old audiences.
Diverging rails
A recent interview to Franz Welser-Möst got me thinking about Karl Böhm....
The rape of Opera
The recent production of Guillame Tell at ROH marked a threshold: the literalisation of a woman’s rape on stage. We...
On singers’ size
Dear music critics of the London Times, I have read quite a few of your opera critiques: more often than not, they...
Gumption ‘n Rose
Rose Beuret, long life companion of Rodin, was not initially part of the plan. After all the opera already had two...
Creation’s fever
For a long time I thought it was just a myth, an old wives tale that people like to ramble about to look cool. Until I...
Camille Claudel and Creative Fever
Why compose an opera based on the life of Camille Claudel? I have been asked this question more than once. The answer,...
