A game of two halves: Ariadne auf Naxos at Longborough
Should divine visions of philosophical beauty be cut short by practical things like food or fireworks? Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera of two worlds in collision, and Anthony…
Shame, camera, action: Verdi’s La traviata at Longborough
Heavyweight opera behemoth /institution La traviata is always in need of agile, intelligent reworkings like Longborough’s intriguing new production. Daisy Evans’ incisive update makes Violetta Valéry a Hollywood filmstar in the late Fifties,…
Who pulls the strings? Mozart’s Magic Flute at Longborough
Like Glyndebourne’s recent Rinaldo, Longborough’s Magic Flute seems to take shape as a young boy’s daydream, or perhaps the world of his storybook coming to life in his imagination. A sense of…
Pain and purity: Janáček’s Jenůfa at Longborough
Among the many operas in the canon thrumming with drama and violence, Jenůfa remains notably dark, shocking in its bleak brutality, barely relieved by a final discovery of true love which only…
“Just My Usual, Please, Figaro!” The Barber of Seville at Longborough
Sharply styled in modern colours over a traditional 18th century setting, with some truly inspired lighting by Wayne Dowdeswell, Longborough ’s Barber of Seville does not seek to break the…