Music + Live music reviews
-
Flo Morrissey and Matthew E White review – a one-night-stand CarpentersGetting together to have some fun with other people’s songs, the folk-soul pairing made soft-rock magic out of silken harmonies
-
Semele review – selfies, sexploitation and vaping drag Handel into the presentThe subtly nuanced period performance under Nicholas Cleobury was deliberately at odds with this often uncomfortable update by Mid Wales Opera
-
The Pirates of Penzance review – precise patter aplenty in Mike Leigh revivalENO’s surefooted return for Leigh’s 2015 Gilbert and Sullivan production has a cast richly decked with boastful pirates and a proto-Wagnerian police chief
-
Raye review – charm and tunes from an extrovert anti-divaThe Croydon teenager proves she belongs in the big time, mixing bouncy R&B with darker shades of Lana Del Rey
-
CBSO/Collon review – frisson of theatricality for Holst's quiet masterpieceYvonne Howard and James Rutherford brought steely power to the mystical chamber opera Sāvitri, though a fierce Planets suite lacked depth
-
Adriana Lecouvreur review – Gheorghiu returns to thrill in Cilea's tragedyNewcomers Brian Jagde and Ksenia Dudnikova were superb in this revival of David McVicar’s striking production
-
Britten Sinfonia/Esfahani review – driving momentum and casual brillianceIn an all-Spanish programme, soloist Mahan Esfahani negotiated the mood swings and disruptive rhythms of Francisco Coll’s new harpsichord concerto
-
-
Rigoletto review – ENO pumps up the volume on Verdi's violent tragedyThis revival of Jonathan Miller’s iconic New York mafiosi staging is as dramatic and complex as ever, even if the orchestra could usefully turn it down a little
-
Hansel and Gretel review – screen-savvy kids summon a Blair Witch fairytaleBold video projections evoke an online forest where two youngsters find danger, in Opera North’s imaginative Engelbert Humperdinck revival
-
Evelyn Glennie/Trilok Gurtu review – a feelgood percussion feastTwo big musical personalities celebrated Indian independence in hurried east-meets-west scratch project, rescued by Glennie and Gurtu’s conviviality and skill
-
RLPO/Petrenko – breathtaking agility of dazzling Daniil TrifonovThe Russian piano virtuoso occupied the spotlight without flaunting his brilliance, though Petrenko and the Liverpool orchestra could have brought more drama
-
Mitsuko Uchida review – quiet elegance and finely etched detailsThe pianist eschewed grandstanding and foregrounded Schumann’s intimacies and introspection in a programme that also included Liszt, Mozart and Kurtág
-
Orchestra Baobab review – Senegalese legends raise the roofThe Afro-Cuban collective deliver their unique brand of folk fusion while barely breaking a sweat
-
Drake review – the boy's got everythingThe Canadian star crams an impressive number of hits into his Boy Meets World show, which undulates and shimmers like a spectacular art installation
-
Mary Chapin Carpenter review – emotional heft, poise and protestThe US singer-songwriter stripped back her sound for an evening of tender, affecting storytelling
-
BBC Total Immersion Day: Philip Glass at 80 review – variety, sheer difficulty and lots of arpeggios
BBC Total Immersion Day: Philip Glass at 80 review – variety, sheer difficulty and lots of arpeggios
Marin Alsop, the BBC Singers and others wished Glass a happy 80th with a career-spanning programme of his best and most challenging work
-
Black Sabbath review – one last time with feelingThe masters of metal are grinding their way through a long, thrillingly loud farewell tour. Though Ozzy Osbourne may have other plans…
-
The Snow Maiden; Luca Buratto review – old Russian, new ItalianOpera North delivers folklore in a factory in a rare staging of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden
-
The Transports review – extraordinary richness of Botany Bay convicts' storiesPeter Bellamy’s 1977 ballad opera is expanded into a stunning, fully staged folk suite featuring the Young’uns, Nancy Kerr, Faustus and Rachael McShane
-
Beach Slang review – max fuzz, sweat and feelgoodThe Philadelphian punks returned to the city with an altered lineup but plenty of rousing melodies and trademark fist-pumping life affirmation
LSO/Wilson review – Turnage trumpet concerto pushes soloist to limits