Diary of a Culture Hedonist

Mia Stensgaard's set design and Kasper Holten's direction worked in Act I in a gentlemen's club setting. The set totally failed in Act II - if you didn't know the opera, you wouldn't know the drama took place on a street corner with the action taking place in front of the houses of Sachs and Pogner. The fight / crowd scene was OTT - was it necessary to have shiny golden codpieces / phalluses? Act III worked a little better, with a slowly rotating set. Bryn Terfel gave us a broody Hans Sachs, and delivered the long monologues with intelligence. Johannes Martin Kränzle was a superlative Sixtus Beckmesser: he had a certain Mr Bean quality to his demeanor and made the comedy part of the opera come to life. Gwyn Hughes Jones was Walther with a ringing heldentenor voice, though his costume (rags, t shirt with a tailcoat) didn't quite portray his knightly provenience. I was hoping for some funky designer outfit, the Walther's costume hardly changed during the ent...

This was a beautiful revival of David McVicar's production of Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur. Angela Gheorghiu starred in the title role with poise and elegance - she was particularly good in the last act (after she was poisoned). Brian Jagde's Maurizio was gallant - he made the most of his tenorial ring in a role that somehow lacked character development. Ksenia Dudnikova was a fruity mezzo as the Princess. Michonnet was sung by Gerald Finley - who excelled in this supporting role.

Having never seen the play nor read the book, I was quite overwhelmed by Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. Ben Turner's Amir was a tortured soul with complex emotions. Andrei Costin's Hassan was equally powerful. The rest of the cast was excellent in the telling of the story. The simple set did its best to convey the different geographical locations - though more could be done to portray the opulence of Amir's home at the beginning and the frightening truck journey to Pakistan. The play came at a poignant moment of this uncertain geopolitical time.

This was the first revival of George Benjamin's Written On Skin. As with contemporary operas, familiarity goes a long way in appreciating the work. In this revival, I found Christopher Purves's The Protector powerful and moving. Barbara Hannigan, who sang Agnès, was superb. The pure and slightly eerie tone of Iestyn Davies as The Boy completed the perfect cast.

You are on business or stopping over on your way to Japan / Australia / New Zealand / Mainland China / Europe. You have one or two days in Hong Kong. What to do? Here is a short itinerary for those who want to get a feel for this exciting city. Day 1: Morning - Take the Peak Tram on Garden Road to Victoria Peak where you will find high rise apartment blocks along Mid-Level on your way up. Enjoy the view of the Victoria Harbour and the picturesque south side of Hong Kong Island (take the well sign-posted circular walk if you have the time). To get back to the city centre, take the Peak Tram back to Garden Road, or if you are particularly energetic, walk down Old Peak Road (shoes with good grip advised), past Canossa Hospital,  onto Albany Road, then turn right onto Upper Albert Road where you will see Government House (where British Governors lived), then onto Garden Road via St John's Cathedral and eventually Queen's Road Central. Lunch - Have a dim-sum lu...

This classic production by Richard Eyre has aged well, considering I first saw it when the young Angela Gheorghiu was under the baton of Sir Georg Solti.

I was super excited to see Der Rosenkavalier at Royal Opera with Renée Fleming in one of her finest roles as Marschallin. And it didn't disappoint. The super energetic Andris Nelsons plough into the opening bars with such intense energy so to make the post coital scene at the opening so tender. Alice Coote's interpretation of Octavian had that adolescent quality that somehow worked (though at times it bordered on tomboy-ish). Matthew Rose was a gigantic Ochs on stage - his less sophisticated Viennese German (as intended by von Hofmannsthal) sometimes got lost as the tempo quickened. Sophie Bevan, as Sophie (!) was on fine form and sang with a beautiful innocent sheen. Andris Nelsons lured the entire audience into the climax of the opera - you could hear a pin drop - when Fleming started ‘ Hab mir’s gelobt ’ - the pacing, the effortlessness, the meaning and the beauty of her voice. The others joined in with intense intertwining and soaring lines - oh my it was to die for! ...