Tim Ashley
Tim Ashley is a Guardian classical and opera critic, though he's also keen on literature and philosophy so you might sometimes find him cross-referencing all three. His work has also appeared in Literary Review and Opera magazine and he is author of a biography of Richard Strauss
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4 out of 5 stars.
The Dead City review – study of grief, guilt and obsession unsettles and enraptures
4 out of 5 stars.Annilese Miskimmon’s new production of Korngold’s hallucinatory 1920 work sacrifices some of its disturbing power but musically it is magnificently alert to the mood-shifts and beauty of its sound-world -
3 out of 5 stars.Bill Barclay’s play about the composer Chevalier de Saint-Georges shines a light on a long-neglected figure and his exquisite music
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3 out of 5 stars.With Charles Styles stepping in to sing the lead at short notice, the BBCSO’s world premiere of Iain Bell’s Wagnerian cantata had an extra edge
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4 out of 5 stars.
Gianni Schicchi review – Bryn Terfel on fine fraudulent form in Puccini’s dark comedy
4 out of 5 stars.Terfel leads a talented young cast and Domingo Hindoyan conducts the RLPO with wit and passion in a performance where no one puts a foot wrong
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4 out of 5 stars.
Ariadne auf Naxos review – Strauss’s harlequinade gets a dusting of silver-screen magic
4 out of 5 stars.Rodula Gaitanou’s relocation of Strauss’s opera to Rome’s Cinecittà studios brings many gains, plus there’s impeccable playing, lovely singing – Elizabeth Llewellyn’s Ariadne particularly – and even fireworks
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3 out of 5 stars.Tim Albery’s second revival only fitfully illuminates the opera’s complexities, but the singing and acting are superb
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While there’s no doubt about the year’s villain, before November’s funding cuts there were plenty of heroes to celebrate. We look back on a year that saw many musical highs and an all-time low
Don Giovanni review – obsession, distress and danger in uneven new production
3 out of 5 stars.