Ariadne auf Naxos, Glyndebourne Festival Opera

The Prologue. A fun filled act with snippets of the melodies to come. Music Master (Thomas Allen) busied himself with everyone else. Angela Brower's Composer was urgent and torn.

The Opera. While Erin Morley (Zerbinetta) delivered some fine vocal pyrotechnic, it was Lise Davidsen (Ariadne) who was the true star of the act. Her soaring and penetrating soprano lines were Wagnerian in quality, and we were in no doubt of her torments and doubts. Sadly, AJ Glueckert's Bacchus was completely out-sung by Davidsen toward the end (at least he kept his voice, unlike the first night of this production a couple of years back when the tenor barely made it to the end).

Conductor Cornelius Meister took everything at a pretty brisk pace, he also let the somewhat decadent side of the music emerge. The LPO played everything beautifully.

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Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall

It was billed as a "Warm Up Event". But I think it was to do with contracts signed prior to the discovery of asbestos at the Royal Festival Hall which added six months to the renovation programme. Gustavo Dudamel conducted the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Strauss Four Last Songs and Mahler 5th. The band made a good sound tough the upper strings were a bit subdue (or was it the Hall?) The Four Last Songs were a bit fast to my liking - and it was only Beim Schlafengehen where I felt the tempo was right. Measha Brueggergosman sang relatively well, though her BIG HAIR was in the way of the sound projection. Mahler 5th was thunderous and supple at the same time - the latter much helped by the strong viola and lower string section. It was exciting and forward but could do with a bit more rubati. Otherwise it was an enjoyable evening out at this much loved venue.

La Voix Humaine, Glyndebourne

Stéphanie d’Oustrac starred in this one act / single cast Poulenc opera. The minimalist stage (Caroline Ginet) consisted of a tilting platform with an old fashioned dial telephone. But that's all it took for the drama to unfold. d’Oustrac was able to draw us into her conversation, expressing the challenging feelings of frustration, anxiety, disappointment and dare we say hope? A superb performance it was.

Bruckner 8, Andris Nelsons and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Bruckner 8 Symphony was a gigantic piece of symphonic writing. What better to hear a mature and thoughtful Andris Nelsons conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra? The slow measured start gave rise to the hallmark relentlessness of the later Bruckner symphonies. Nelsons brought out the rising and falling phrases, and ensured the episodic chunks together form a coherent whole. The scherzo second movement was precise and at pace. Feierlich langsam (3rd movement) was subtle, mournful with a glimmer of light. The masculine sound for the brass section delivered a memorable finale

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