Carmel ThomasonSusanna marks the fourth collaboration between Leeds based Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre. It is a combination of art forms that still feels experimental yet is clearly emerging into something new, elevating both storytelling formats. It...
Martin ThomassonJust before the curtain goes up on this latest revival of Phyllida Lloydâs 1993 production of Pucciniâs La BohĂšme, Howard steps forward to remind us what a marvellous gift to the region Opera North is – providing employment for over 130...
Liz RatcliffeRichard Wagnerâs The Flying Dutchman is a dramatic opera steeped in folklore, telling the tale of a cursed sea captain doomed to sail the oceans until he finds redemption through the love of a faithful woman. The story follows the Dutchman, who can...
Acclaimed creative duo, director Annabel Arden and designer Joanna Parker, transform Wagnerâs opera The Flying Dutchman into an urgent story for our times. Ahead of its performance with Opera North at Lowry, Salford here are 5 reasons to let this...
Mozartâs The Magic Flute is enduringly popular because it is the perfect mix of fantasy and fabulousness in an accessible opera that entertains and enchants regular opera-goers and those new to opera alike. Indeed, this Opera North autumn season at...
There are likely many reasons why Ruddigore is one of the lesser performed works of Gilbert and Sullivan. But audience enjoyment is not one of them. There was a palpable lightness in the Lowryâs large Lyric auditorium for Opera Northâs high energy...
I come away from Opera Northâs revived production of Benjamin Brittenâs adaptation of A Midsummer Nightâs Dream still trying to work out whether or not I enjoyed it. Those things that ON, almost without exception, do well, were a triumph. The...
One reviewer described this show as âbrilliantly bonkers.â I shall strive to be similarly generous, but I give you fair warning: I expect to fall some way short. To begin at the beginning⊠We are gathered to witness the birth of Diktat, a strongman...
In case youâre so pressure-cooker busy you donât have time to read the rest of this review (cue scream-face emoji), Iâll come straight to the point: This Opera North production of Verdiâs âFalstaffâ is simply splendid. Shakespeareâs Sir John...
The Bridgewater Hall currently represents the last time great architecture was permitted to plant foot in Manchester (Discuss). It is, in itself, a reason to visit the city – the quiet northern confidence of its burly, open-faced exterior, the...