June 2023

This month’s cover shows the production at La Monnaie in Brussels of Bastarda, a new ‘theatrical event’ based on Donizetti’s Tudor operas.
 
Our features include a profile of the tenor Brenden Gunnell as he sings Peter Grimes in Leipzig and an interview with the Toronto-based Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, the director-choreographer husband-and-wife team devoted to historically informed productions. We also look at the history of royal operatic censorship in Britain and in the light of the war in Ukraine consider issues surrounding cancellations by—and of—artists connected with Russia.

— A profile of the tenor Brenden Gunnell, as he sings Peter Grimes in Leipzig

— Adventures in Baroque opera: Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg talk to Brian Robins

— To cancel or be cancelled? As the Royal Opera’s Il trovatore goes ahead without Anna Netrebko, Warwick Thompson looks at issues surrounding artists connected with Russia

— Royal flush: John-Pierre Joyce traces the history of British operatic censorship

— Josephine Barstow chooses a favourite recording, La Bohème with Victoria de los Ángeles and Jussi Björling, conducted by Thomas Beecham

— Obituary of the ground-breaking countertenor James Bowman

Reviews this month include the Melbourne Opera’s Ring cycle in Bendigo, Tannhäuser at the Salzburg Easter Festival, Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle at Greek National Opera, At Your Doorstep/Vor deiner Tür in Johannesburg, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Geneva, Roberto Devereux in Zurich, The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing at Chicago Opera Theater, Champion at the Metropolitan Opera, A Thousand Splendid Suns at Seattle Opera, Innocence at Covent Garden, and Blue and Symphony of Sorrowful Songs at ENO.

Our Disc of the Month is Spontini’s La Vestale, with a cast led by Marina Rebeka and conducted by Christophe Rousset, on the BruZane label.