Record viewing and listening figures, plus keyboard wizardry from Paul Lewis, Benjamin Grosvenor and Stephen Hough, kicked off another year at the Proms. Elsewhere, Strauss’s Cretan romcom laid bare
When tears well up during stretches of Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s curious hybrid which you never expected to move you, something special's going on. The magic happened last night in an evening which I didn't anticipate equalling “the Carmelites experience” at Glyndebourne. But, in its very different way, it did, in terms of casting, conducting and a production (by Bruno Ravella) that wasn’t too interventionist but had some powerful ideas of its own.
Garsington Opera in Oxfordshire opens this weekend, the epitome of what a refined country house music festival should be, with fine dining and glamorous picnics by the lake, magical gardens and first class opera productions. And this year's line-up of prestigious names is worthy of travelling the length and breadth of the country - and many do. The first production to open Garsington's 2023 season at their spectacular home on the Wormsley estate is the cherished Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia with actor-turned-director Christopher Luscombe making his Garsington directorial debut. Starring Katie Bray as Rosina and Richard Burkhard as Dr Bartolo, renowned designer Simon Higlett will capture early 1930s Seville, while The English Concert will be conducted by Garsington's Artistic Director Douglas Boyd. Tim Alberty directs the much anticipated new production of Mozart's Mitridate, re di Ponto, an intimate yet dramatic story resulting in a complex web of rivalry,