Review: Giulio Cesare, Hackney Empire
Unfamiliar as I am to opera, I was moved by the power it has to communicate without (English) words, but through music, voice and expression. Handel's Giulio Ce...
English Touring Opera
Review: Tosca, Hackney Empire
The visceral austerity of the English Touring Opera’s (ETO) set, with its sharp lines, captures the murky undertones of a Rome in 1800 at the centre of a Europe...
Review: Xerxes, Hackney Empire
Sometimes it’s best to keep things simple. Xerxes, an opera by Handel no less, has enjoyed some notable stagings in the past thirty years or so, not least Nick ...
Review: Shackleton’s Cat, Dulwich College
Shackleton’s Cat is based on the true story of Ernest Shackleton (played by Ashley Mercer) and his expedition to cross the South Pole. Written and directed by T...
Review: Ottone, Hackney Empire
A lesser known opera in the Handelian repertoire, Ottone is by no mean the least. With an intriguing plot and dramatic and well-paced music, the opera stands up...
Review: Life on the Moon, Hackney Empire
I had never heard of Haydn's Life on the Moon (Il mondo della luna), and after tonight's performance by English Touring Opera I now see why. It is by no fault o...