Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Royal Opera

It was an epic journey. Having seen the complete Ring a few times now, I still found myself completely immersed in the experience. Here were some memorable moments (good and bad):

Sarah Connolly as Fricka was a surprise. Having seen her mainly in trouser roles, she was a convincing Wagnerian mezzo!
Bryn Terfel as a less bombastic and more pensive Wotan. His best yet.
The ring of fire had a hiccup at the end if Die Walküre - but the fire came on eventually so all as well.
Simon O’Neill was super as Siegmund, and well matched by Eva-Maria Westbroek as Sieglinde - their duet at the end of Act I was exhilirating.
It took me a long time to get used to Stefan Vinke as Siegfried - there is something odd in the way he shaped the beginning of the words. Then again, you can't beat him for the stamina he'd demonstrated throughout Siegfried.
Woops, Wotan's spear was shattered before Siegfried got there ... there was this collective gasp in the audience!
Susan Bullock was fab as Brünhilde - so much poise, so much emotion in this enormous role.
Sir John Tomlinson's Hagen was pretty evil. Just what the plot needed.
The orchestra was by and large very good. Needless to say, Pappano held everything together. Though the brass section (and in particular horns) could be better - not sure whether it was the heat or the playing but the sound lacked sonority.
As a whole it was still a wonderful experience to see the complete Ring.

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Dialogues des Carmélites at the Royal Opera

Michael Levine's set design for Dialogues des Carmélites was minimalist. Actually, was there any set design? I suppose the director Robert Carsen was clever at introducing formation of human figures in many different ways to suggest the context of the opera. It kind of worked. Blanche, sung by Sally Matthews, was pretty good. Though I did find the whole work quite tedious - I think the intimate nature of the dialogues needed a small and intimate performing space i.e. not the Royal Opera House. The ending was worth waiting for. Dramatic. Poignant.

Strauss Four Last Songs and Sibelius 5 - Singapore Symphony

The evening concert started with the overture of Lohengrin. Jukka-Pekka Saraste took a poised temple and the strings of Singapore Symphony rose to the ocassion to provide that mythical sound. This probbaly was intedned to set the mood for the Four Last Songs - I guessed. Evelina Dobračeva was the star soprano. Frühling got off to a sure, if a little safe start. The best was probably Beim Schlafengehen, sung with great stillness. September and Im Abendrot felt unblanaced - Dobračeva's subtle words were somehow lost among the swell of orchestral sound. This was followed by Morgen - probbaly the best song of the evening, perhaps the very light orchestration helped. Jukka-Pekka Saraste and SSO were on surer footing with Sibelius 5. The first movement was brisk with lightness and details. The second and last movements felt cohesive, leading to the well known tune in the finale. If only there were more people in the concert hall to enjoy the music.

Aqua Nueva serving up some hot Spanish snacks in London

It's just about a month old when Aqua opened in London. And yes, it's the same Aqua as the one on No 1 Peking Road. Well, the entrance on Argyll Street makes a bit of a statement - crimson velvet decor with a sleekly dressed receptionist guiding you to the lift. When you get to the top floor, it opens out into a series of bar and dining areas. My destination was Aqua Nueva - the Spanish part of this drinking-dining complex. That meant I was guided along an atmospherically lit corridor before I got to the the restaurant. It's well lit with a terrace looking out to a roof top terrace. Unlike Aqua in Hong Kong where it has the spectacular harbour view, the London one only looks out to a roof-top view. Rather than wading through the tapas and a la carte menus, I just asked the maitre d' to bring a selection of their tapas. I was pleasant surprised by the delicate croquette of mushrooms, lightly cooked octopus, braised pork, San Pietro fillets, Manchengo topped tortilla a...

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