Review: Fifty Shades of Green in ‘Don Giovanni’ at ENO by Warwick Thompson

A succession of women, all dressed in exquisite 1950s gowns, walk eagerly into the hotel room of Don Giovanni (a charismatic Christopher Purves). They’re excited and ready for fun and each…

Review: Beautiful Bychkov and Blurred Reality at Royal Opera by Warwick Thompson

“All the world’s a stage,” said Shakespeare. Director Jan Philipp Gloger appears to agree.He sets his new Royal Opera production of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” in a mashed-up worl…

Fifty Shades of Grey: “Béatrice et Bénédict” at Glyndebourne by Warwick Thompson

They say that after the first five shades of grey, the next forty-five all look the same. That’s an awful lot of grey - but apparently not enough for designer Barbara de Limburg, who has c…

Fledermaus at Opera Holland Park Has Star Soprano, Struggles With Magic: Review by Warwick Thompson

The conducting sparkles like a fountain of diamonds. There’s a superstar performance by young soprano Jennifer France as a naughty chambermaid. The score has hit tune after hit tune. So wh…

OPINION: Reviving Shoddy Old Works Keeps Opera Alive by Warwick Thompson

A desperate young woman fights off the attentions of a lust-crazed brute... As opera plots go, this situation ticks every box for a great show, and has been used in - roughly speaking - a ga…

REVIEW: A Flying Carpet To Die For, But No Twanky: “Aladdin” by Warwick Thompson

The last time “Aladdin” was seen in a major London theatre (it was the Old Vic) Sir Ian McKellen played Widow Twanky. In true panto fashion, the role was full of smutty innuendo. “You�…

REVIEW: Anish Kapoor Versus Real Human Beings: ‘Tristan’ at ENO by Warwick Thompson

In Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde” the protagonists are not so much characters as concepts. They speak in symbols. They represent philosophies of love and death. It’s a tough cal…

REVIEW: Beautiful, Bestial, and Bonkers: ‘Iris’ at Opera Holland Park by Warwick Thompson

The score is lavish and sumptuous, the playing gorgeous, the singing excellent. So what makes “Iris” the most bonkers show ever put on at Opera Holland Park?Mascagni’s rarely-staged 18…

A 2016 Summer Festival Guide for European Opera Lovers by Warwick Thompson

European opera festivals this year offer something to suit every taste. New works take a bow, older ones get a fresh look, and dependable warhorses show they can still light up the house. So…

INTERVIEW: Soprano Sophie Bevan on Murder, Incest and Sludge by Warwick Thompson

For her latest role, soprano Sophie Bevan is covered in thick, gooey, red sludge. “It represents destiny,” she says cheerfully. “You can’t escape it. Everyone gets covered in it by t…

Anna Nicole Gets Singing Double at Covent Garden: Interview by Warwick Thompson