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Paul Levy measures the Angles

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Archives for 2009

Tristan’s triste tryst in Sussex

August 8, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

Nikolaus Lehnhoff's minimalist production of Tristan und Isolde at Glyndebourne depends for its effect largely on Roland Aeschlimann's curving abstract sets and Robin Carter's amazing lighting effects. Andrea Schmidt-Futterer's mediaeval/Japanese warrior/Ku Klux Klan (in the case of the demented-looking Act III shepherd) costumes are the least successful element; though they do have the merit, … [Read more...]

The Four Day Ring

August 3, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

Not all that long ago I was going to attempt to go to all the many performances of Wagner's Ring taking place all over the planet, and write a book about the experience. My publishers decided it was uncommercial (I still think they were wrong), but not before I had been to complete cycles at Adelaide, for the first Australian Ring and to a wonderful and wacky Ring in the famous opera house at … [Read more...]

Snake oil and sick sopranos

July 27, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

It was one of those cinematic nights at the opera. The soprano is ill; her understudy gets, and makes the most of, her chance of a lifetime - and a star is born. In this case she wasn't the cover; in fact she was on holiday in Leipzig (Leipzig?) when the call came that Ekaterina Siurina had a throat infection, and would she come to Glyndebourne and sing the lead role of Adina in Donizetti's … [Read more...]

Second city’s cultural feast

July 22, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

I confess I've only paid flying visits to Manchester -  though I think of it as England's second city - and both of those were for purposes of plugging a book. Indeed, prior to last week I had seen nothing of Manchester save the large office building housing the  TV and radio studios of BBC Manchester. Though I saw these again, making fleeting appearances on both media, I also managed to … [Read more...]

A fishy tale?

July 9, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

Bill CooperThe opera at Glyndebourne on a warm summer evening is one life's big and unfailing pleasures. The air-conditioned auditorium with its good acoustic and excellent sightlines is always comfortable; and you can reduce the considerable cost of the evening by bringing your own picnic and drink. All this means that the general director, David Pritchard and his team can take a box office risk … [Read more...]

Diva details

June 28, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

The current revival of La traviata at the Royal Opera House could easily have been one of the great performances ever staged there. Richard Eyre has returned to direct his 1994 production, with its staggeringly wonderful, lavish sets by Bob Crowley (the sight of the elaborately grotesque yet beautiful décor of Flora's Act II scene 2 salon alone is worth the price of a ticket)  and magical … [Read more...]

Shakespeare Propelled?

June 24, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

 (photo Nobby Clark)Chip off the (solid oak - he's Peter Hall's son) old block Edward Hall leads Propeller, an all-male company dedicated to performing the works of Shakespeare. I try to see all their productions; they're usually superb, and never less than exciting - every one I've seen makes you think again about a text you know well, and the revelations generally come thick and … [Read more...]

Summertime, and the Opera’s easy

June 23, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

We've forsaken sun and sand for chilly June nights and picnics in the shelter tent. Summer opera festivals are increasingly prevalent, ever more fun, and gaining in cultural weight. We've recently seen a pair of operas that would not have been possible, or at least very difficult,  to stage in the context of a normal season, Garsington Opera's Mirandolina by Bohuslav Martinů and Glyndebourne … [Read more...]

Clarity without a concept

June 15, 2009 by Paul Levy Leave a Comment

Recently I've detected something curious happening in the dramatic and lyric theatre, a tendency to clarity, to narrative simplicity and straightforwardness. In a way it's the opposite of the Konzept school that has so long dominated performances in Europe, with directors of East German origin pushing their weight around the stages of the West. What we're seeing is a drive to tell the story using … [Read more...]

Is it still the same old story?

June 5, 2009 by Paul Levy 1 Comment

Do all artists have a "late period," in which they exhibit power coupled with exuberance, occasionally even surpassing some of the work they made when younger? Or is this venerable fireworks display only achieved by great artists? The list is familiar (and assembling it a trivial pursuit) - Picasso, Rothko, Rembrandt, Titian, Poussin,  the Verdi of "Falstaff." On  the evidence of his … [Read more...]

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Paul Levy

is almost a citizen of the world, carrying the passports of the USA and the UK/EU. He wrote about the arts in general for the now-defunct Wall Street Journal Europe. [Read More]

Plain English

An Anglo-American look at what's happening here and there, where English is spoken and more or less understood -- in letters, the visual and performing arts, and, occasionally, in the kitchen or dining room. … [Read More...]

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