Month: April 2014

The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte which takes place in New York on Saturday, April 26, will be screened live in cinemas around the world – the latest presentation in the Company’s Live in HD series. Music Director James Levine leads a charismatic cast, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, in…

Mariss Jansons, Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra since 2004, has announced his departure after the conclusion of the 2014-15 season. Much loved by the musicians and audiences alike, Maestro Jansons – only the sixth Chief Conductor in the history of the Concertgebouw – is credited with having been a tremendous inspiration to the…

One of the most interesting books to have come my way recently is a memoir by Tony Cointreau, entitled Ethel Merman, Mother Teresa … and Me – and if the title sounds extraordinary, the book is even more so. “How many people,” reads the blurb, “can count among their closest friends Ethel Merman (the Queen…

Monaco Dance Forum welcomes Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, and a film presentation by Jiří Kylián Productions to the Grimaldi Forum in Monte-Carlo this month. The Geneva Ballet – a company of 22 classically trained dancers from around the world – is known for its neo-classical and contemporary style, and also for its adventurous…

English National Ballet commemorates the centenary of the start of World War I in a production entitled Lest We Forget, now in performance at the Barbican – and the critics have been fulsome in their praise – not only of the production, but of the decision by Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo, to stage it. The…