Broken harpsichord replaced mid-show by crappy piano & sheet of paper

Humour

After mid-performance harpsichord malfunction, stage management saves the day with crappy piano and large piece of scrap paper.

Trump to host WH screening of "What's Opera, Doc?"

Humour

Donald Trump plans to host screening of “What’s Opera, Doc?” for White House staffers, following success of "Finding Nemo".

2 violists injured after Cunegonde's aria ends in chaos

Humour

Cunegonde’s aria ends in chaos after soprano accidentally launches broken string of pearls into orchestra pit, 2 violists report painful welts.

Music historians find lost Mozart opera, all agree that it is crap

Humour

Breaking: Music historians discover lost Mozart opera, opera circles collectively agree that it is crap.

ROH's Madama Butterfly: better to be furious than bored

Review

Yet there's something horridly patronising about how Puccini romanticises the Japanese. The music he writes for Cio-Cio San's family at the wedding is purposefully cacophonous, almost laughable sound effects and definitely not the reactions of fully-realised human beings. The story of Madama Butterfly existed before Puccini's opera, but there's a clear attraction to her youth and ignorance, and the idea of "rescuing" her from her "shameful" past as a geisha and making her a proud Westerner, as though in recovery from her savage Eastern upbringing.

In review: Early Opera Company at Wigmore Hall

Review

For a group that plays so much with singers, it was shocking to see how little sensitivity they had towards Bevan and Hulett. We were watching the classy soprano try to make elegant choices in all of her arias, but those five violins were not responding to her well. While they reveled in their long flowing legato lines, they played without breathing or reacting to the singer.

Is new opera putting the répétiteur out of a job?

Editorial

Centuries ago, the piano could act as a self-contained, portable element that encompassed the sound world of an orchestra; the role of the répétiteur has evolved organically out of this practice, and most rehearsal pianists are valuable assistants to conductors and liaisons for singers. Now, composers are now working with a sound spectrum that is larger than a piano can represent; to use a piano in rehearsal no longer achieves the goal of re-creating what the singers will hear when the "real orchestra" shows up.

Review: the personal side of Bach's B minor Mass

Review

The mass text exists well outside of the personal experiences of any composer who sets it; yet in the case of Bach, and the amount of sadness that followed him throughout his life, it's not difficult to imagine him speaking these desperate words in his own voice. Bach would consider that a great blasphemy, no doubt. A man almost as famous for his piety as for his music, it's no wonder he devoted himself and his extraordinary work to God.

Daniel Belcher returns to The Long Walk

Interview

"The best part is getting to know the man very well over the last four years. When I first met Brian in New York, I was very intimidated and, honestly, worried that he would think, 'Who is this guy to play me?' It was quite the opposite; he opened his arms, said, 'Opera Brian!' and gave me a hug. He has been nothing but supportive and in fact, over the years we have become very good friends."

4 arias & their common misconceptions

How-to

Daughters have been making pouting faces and puppy eyes at their fathers to get what they want for centuries, and Puccini encapsulates the strategy perfectly. "Babbino" is like saying "Daddy", or even "Daddykins", and to sing it on top of the lush tune is the equivalent of crocodile tears. "I'll throw myself off a bridge", Lauretta paraphrases (twice), if she doesn't get her way. Ugh.