Those who read only official festival programmes don't know what they're missing. Next Wednesday, at that fancy hostelry the Goldener Hirsch, the true spirit of the modern Salzburg Festival will be celebrated by a display of Montblanc's 'new fine jewellery'. Montblanc is a leading and 'exclusive' sponsor of the Salzburg Festival (see press release below). It is involved with a special tribute to Max Reinhardt, the idealistic founder. The guest of honour at the Hirsch will be Jerry Hall, sometime … [Read more...]

Someone asked for my view on Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts. Here goes: Paul Potts: Once Chance album released Monday 16 July review by Norman Lebrecht (Evening Standard) Nothing deceives like the evidence of our eyes. A month ago, Paul Potts, a mobile phone salesman from Port Talbot with wonky teeth and a waistline problem, convinced 13.5 million TV viewers and countless more on YouTube that Britain's Got Talent and he was it. Premium phones lines glowed red when he sang Nessun Dorma … [Read more...]

I know we're supposed to suspend critical judgement at charity gigs, but a chance sight of Sarah Brightman attacking Nessun Dorma at the Shanghai corner of Al Gore's Live Earth made me want to save something more endangered than a little old planet. Transposing Puccini's tenor aria for non-operatic soprano was a tacky idea. It substituted warble for vibrato, evoking the gooey feeling you get when coffee cream has been poured mistakenly into a cup of tea. Ms Brightman cannot manage anything … [Read more...]