The week in classical: Peter Grimes; Parsifal; Yunchan Lim – review

Millennium Centre, Cardiff; Temple Church; Wigmore Hall, LondonDepleted yet straining every sinew, Welsh National Opera deliver a formidable new Peter Grimes. Elsewhere, down the aisle with Wagner and fearless Bach from the world’s next great pianistT-shirts emblazoned with “Save our WNO” are now default concert uniform for the orchestra of Welsh National Opera, a silent protest in the pit while playing with customary supreme professionalism. When called on stage with their instruments to take a curtain call at the end of WNO’s new Peter Grimes, the applause in Cardiff’s Millennium Centre was deafening. This dress code began last summer, when funding cuts to WNO were announced, referred to several times in this column. At the risk of banging on, I’ll bang on. Industrial action continues, after a re-ballot last month. We have watched a cash-starved English National Opera shrivel. WNO’s position is perilous, with no rescue rope in sight.Communal solidarity heightened the intensity in Melly Still’s new staging of Grimes, perceptively conducted by the company’s admired music director, Tomáš Hanus. In Chiara Stephenson’s designs (lighting Malcolm Rippeth), the Suffolk coast of composer Benjamin Britten, and of George Crabbe, poet of the original story, has vanished into a generic, semi-urban no man’s land. Emphasis now is on psychology and character. A near empty stage and black backdrop offer simplicity for touring, but also reflect a need for thrift. The wooden boat suspended above the stage, slowly spinning, casting shadows, gives us a taste of the sea, now a frame for a starry sky, now a mandorla to hold the wan figure of Grimes’s dead apprentice, who becomes an almost sacred figure. Continue reading...

Comments

Culture

On Felt Better Alive, Pete Doherty surprises with a charming and chaotic picture of his newfound domesticity

Independent

Comments

Culture

On Felt Better Alive, Pete Doherty surprises with a charming and chaotic picture of his newfound domesticity

Joe Rogan claims banning Kanye’s ‘kinda catchy’ Hitler song ‘kind of supports’ what he says about Jews

Tom Cruise receives nearly 8-minute standing ovation at Cannes premiere of final Mission: Impossible film

How Twenty One Pilots became the biggest band of the streaming era

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a massive Tom Cruise ego trip, and I absolutely adored it

Diary: It's amazing what you have to be expert at these days...

Field Day festival hit with growing boycott as artists pull out in solidarity with Palestine

Dua Lipa is youngest person to feature on Sunday Times under-40s rich list

Eurovision 2025 viewers accuse TV broadcast of ‘censoring’ audience ‘booing’ Israel’s Yuval Raphael

Law & Order: SVU star set to return for season 27 after her character was written off show

Sarah Jessica Parker reveals reason she initially asked to ‘get out of’ Sex and the City

Scarlett Johansson says Lost in Translation crew were ‘on tenterhooks’ around Bill Murray

The Eurovision 2025 acts competing in the grand final

Charlize Theron says it’s a ‘miracle’ she’s alive after filming stunts without a harness on latest film

‘Masterful’ thriller finally completely free to stream after 3 years

Bono: 'The world has never been closer to a world war in my lifetime'

Criminal investigation opened in rape and sexual assault allegations against Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson facing criminal investigation over sexual assault allegations

Smokey Robinson under criminal investigation over rape and sexual assault allegations

Smokey Robinson under criminal investigation after sexual assault claims

New documentary about influential Scottish band to premiere at Cannes

Singer Chris Brown to appear in court charged with grievous bodily harm

Cassie challenged over Diddy 'freak off' allegations - as explicit messages read in court

US singer Chris Brown charged with GBH over alleged attack in London

Israel qualifies for Eurovision final amid protests

Chris Brown charged over alleged London nightclub assault

Springsteen, in England, Blasts Trump Administration as ‘Treasonous’

Takeaways From Cassie’s 3rd Day of Testimony in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial

Apple Music’s Matt Wilkinson: ‘We need grassroots venues so rising artists can have their start’

Unionized Starbucks workers on strike over chain's new uniform policy

Charles Strouse, Broadway composer of 'Annie' and 'Bye Bye Birdie,' dies at 96

Shia LaBeouf reveals alleged private emails with Timothée Chalamet amid feud rumors

Joe Rogan claims banning Kanye’s ‘kinda catchy’ Hitler song ‘kind of supports’ what he says about Jews

Charles Strouse death: Broadway composer behind Annie and Bye Bye Birdie dies aged 96

The Eurovision 2025 acts competing in the grand final

Adam Sandler’s alligator ‘friend’ from Happy Gilmore has died suddenly

Eurovision 2025 viewers accuse TV broadcast of ‘censoring’ audience ‘booing’ Israel’s Yuval Raphael

Likely human remains wash up near Taylor Swift’s holiday home, cops say

Tom Cruise: It takes decades to prepare for Mission: Impossible stunts

Eurovision viewers aghast after Malta’s raunchy performance with spread legs and explicit lyrics

Michael J. Fox to return to acting in beloved Apple TV series years after retirement

Ncuti Gatwa replaced by pop icon after pulling out as Eurovision Spokesperson

The 10 best songs of Eurovision 2025 — and their chances to win

CNN to Livestream George Clooney’s ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’

Charles Strouse, Composer of ‘Annie’ and ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ Dies at 96

FIRE report finds college censorship shifting against Gaza protests

Israeli act Yuval Raphael’s Eurovision performance disrupted by protesters

Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster reacts to shocking death of longtime character

Israel’s Eurovision entrant faces more backlash as rehearsals ‘disrupted’ by protesters

Chris Brown arrested over alleged bottle attack

In 'Overcompensating,' Benito Skinner turns old wounds into comedy

Kennedy Center Employees, Alarmed by Trump, Push to Unionize

Smokey Robinson Faces Criminal Investigation After Assault Allegations

‘Rotten Legacy’ Is a Soapy Spanish Succession Story

Potential U.S. semiconductor manufacturing boom complicated by Trump's economic policies

South Africa says Trump's aid cuts stripped more than 8,000 health workers from its HIV program

Notre Dame faces challenge to tax-exempt status with state DEI inquiry

Workers are saying 'no' to toxic environments. Here's how to set limits or know it's time to leave

Cassie says Sean 'Diddy' Combs' infidelity was hurtful as cross-examination begins

New York Senate leader signals vote on assisted suicide bill, setting up historic showdown