It was hardly worth going Rupert Christiansen going to Theodora
At the Barbican, Emmanuelle Haïm conducted Le Concert d'Astrée in a grave and slow reading of Handel's Theodora that unwittingly seemed to emphasise its lugubrious sanctimoniousness. The soloists' singing was uniformly good even if Anne Sofie von Otter's Irene couldn't eclipse memories of the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's interpretation yet only in the stunning choruses did the drama come to life as it did in the celebrated Glyndebourne production.
At least I can believe that the Guardian was actually there. More thoughtful and detailed review at MV Daily
A is for Amadeus, B is for Beethoven. Presumably C-Z are yet to come. Can this adolescent-drive-by biographing with deliberately provocative statements rise to Zemlinsky or Zandonai? Or will the Grauniad's characteristic ADD peter out at Korngold...Is it me ageing or is the Guardian becoming increasingly juvenile?
Review of Soile Isokoski's CD and links to a free download (probably only valid today).
Preview of Magdalena Kozená tonight at the Barbican. An all Mozart programme looks enticing; bizarrely, there are still alot of tickets left, from £9 - £35. I can't make it.
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