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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

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

June 2024

  • Energetic … Janine Jansen and Martin Fröst perform at the Barbican, London.

    LSO/Noseda review – Beamish’s Distans is virtuousic and exquisite

    Given its UK premiere by Janine Jansen and Martin Fröst, Sally Beamish’s concerto for violin and clarinet was the centrepiece of a beautifully judged programme
  • Danielle de Niese (Hanna Glawari) and Germán Olvera (Count Danilo Danilovitsch), centre, in The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár at Glyndebourne.

    The Merry Widow review – De Niese and Olvera are compelling, but camp fun stifles subtlety

    Double entendres, extra dialogue and sight gags ensure that Cal McCrystal’s new staging entertains, but it’s at the expense of emotional power. In the pit, John Wilson is superlative, likewise Germán Olvera’s charismatic Danilo
  • Yuja Wang at the Festival Hall, London.

    Yuja Wang review – from delicate finesse to fierce intensity

    The virtuoso pianist balanced edgy 20th-century works with the pastoral calm of Chopin, bringing out the subtleties of each piece with superb control

May 2024

  • A thing of extremes … Andrea Chénier at the Royal Opera House.

    Andrea Chénier review – Pappano ends on a high with this sensational, thrilling revival

  • Sir John Tomlinson (Milton) in States of Innocence BF24 c. Ian Winters

    States of Innocence review – ambitious Milton opera leaves us in the dark

  • Images embargoed until 1700 on 16th May 2024<br>Dmitry Cheblykov (Escamillo) in Carmen by Bizet @ Glyndebourne. Conducted by Robin Ticciati. Directed by Diane Paulus. Set Designer Riccardo Hernández. Costume Designer Evie Gurney. Choreographer Jasmin Vardimon. Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth. (Opening-16-05-2024) ©Tristram Kenton 05-24 (3 Raveley Street, LONDON NW5 2HX TEL 0207 267 5550 Mob 07973 617 355)email: tristram@tristramkenton.com

    Carmen review – Chaieb beguiles as the tragic heroine in uneven production

  • Superb … Rachel Redmond (Aminta) centre, Gemma Ní Bhriain (Megacle), Chuma Sijeqa (Clistene), Sarah Richmond (Argene), Alexandra Urquiola (Aristea), Seán Boylan (Alcandro), and Meili Li (Licida) in Irish National Opera's L'Olimpiade.

    L’Olimpiade review – clever and effective Vivaldi staging with music of heartstopping beauty

March 2024

  • John Relyea as Bluebeard in Duke Bluebeard's Castle by English National Opera at the Coliseum.

    Duke Bluebeard’s Castle review – erotic, unsettling and beautifully staged

    A last-minute cast substitution added a remarkable gender twist to Bartók’s opera about marital disintegration
  • Our Mother/Stone Nest. Nadya Pickup

    Our Mother review – reimagination of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater has a timeless directness and simplicity

    Historical ensemble Figure and an excellent cast explore grief, compassion and hope through five women representing multiple generations

    • Jenůfa review – Alden’s harrowing staging remains a formidable piece of theatre

    • Nash Ensemble: Terezín-Theresienstadt review – incredibly moving survey of composers lost to the Holocaust

    • The Rake’s Progress review – stylisation tips towards surrealism in ETO’s staging of Stravinsky parable

February 2024

  • Delivering hammer blows … Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

    Patricia Kopatchinskaja/Aurora Orchestra review – ferocious evocation of humanity’s reckoning

  • A scene from The Barber Of Seville by Rossini @ London Coliseum. An English National Opera Production. Conducted by Roderick Cox. Directed by Jonathan Miller. (Opening 12-02-2024) ©Tristram Kenton 02-24 (3 Raveley Street, LONDON NW5 2HX TEL 0207 267 5550 Mob 07973 617 355)email: tristram@tristramkenton.com

    The Barber of Seville review – Miller’s 1987 staging still sparkles

  • Ausrine Stundyte (Tosca) and Gabriele Viviani (Scarpia) in Tosca at the Royal Opera House.

    Tosca review – full of thrills but star soprano Ausrine Stundyte doesn’t quite rise to this challenge

  • First rate … Il Pomo d’Oro.

    Jephte/Dido and Aeneas review – magnificent DiDonato brings understated passion to Purcell

January 2024

  • Admirably unsentimental: Stefan Pop as Rodolfo with Angela Gheorghiu (Mimì) in La boheme at the Royal Opera House, January 2024.

    La Bohème review – Angela Gheorghiu reprises a legendary Mimì

    This revival of Richard Jones’s 2017 staging sees the diva return to the stage and the role that made her name, and if Gheorghiu doesn’t quite sparkle as she did 30 years ago, there is superb support from her fellow bohemians
  • Anna Prohaska sings with the viol consort Phantasm at the Wigmore Hall.

    Anna Prohaska/Phantasm review – her tone is a mixture of silk and silver

    Music by William Byrd and his Renaissance contemporaries was exquisitely performed by the viol group, with the versatile and sensitive soprano matching their quiet intensity
  • Dani Howard – Ascent Bedřich Smetana Vltava (The Moldau) from Má vlast Richard Strauss – Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (Alpine Symphony) The National Youth Orchestra Sir Mark Elder

    National Youth Orchestra/Elder review – monumental Strauss sees young musicians scale the heights

    Dani Howard’s Ascent put the NYO brass front and centre, while, under conductor Mark Elder, Smetana’s Má Vlast and the Alpine Symphony were both full of grandeur and intricate detail

December 2023

  • Impeccable singing … Voces8.

    Voces8 review – classy Christmas concert moves from the sacred to Santa

    The vocal enemble’s programme of Christmas music old and new was hugely enjoyable, everything done with precision and care
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