Toby Spence
A completely satisfying operatic experience: Opera North’s Parsifal reviewed
When Parsifal finally returns to Montsalvat, it’s Good Friday. He’s trodden the path of suffering but now the sun is…
After weeks of silence, Royal Opera reopened with a whimper
It was the fourth time, or maybe the fifth, that I found myself reaching for the tissues that I began…
An abdication of interpretative responsibility: Royal Opera’s Billy Budd reviewed
The climactic central scene of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd ends unexpectedly. The naval court has reached a verdict of death,…
Why did Parry’s Judith vanish?
‘When a man takes it upon himself to write an oratorio — perhaps the most gratuitous exploit open to a…
