Richard Bratby

Sound and fury | 22 November 2018

Plus: the Royal Opera chorus aren't in the same league as the Welsh National Opera's, who were on top form in Prokofiev's War & Peace

  • War & Peace

    Birmingham Hippodrome

  • Simon Boccanegra

    Royal Opera House, in rep until 10 December

The People are angry. In fact, they’re bloody furious. As the lights flash up on David Pountney’s production of Prokofiev’s War & Peace, the entire cast confronts the audience: grim, braced, defiant. And before you’ve had time to wonder if this sort of thing is just the long-term legacy of Les Misérables, or whether opera directors really are in love with totalitarian imagery, they unleash hell.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Read next

Trending

Michael Simmons

When it comes to education, Scotland is an example of what not to do

Michael Simmons
From the magazine
Scots have, in the past, bragged about having the best education system in the world. Scottish sixth-formers study a broader range of subjects and aren’t forced to specialise too early. And look at our history: the literature, the Enlightenment, our universities, all due to world-class schools. But however true this may once have been, it’s

Also in Arts Reviews

Also by Richard Bratby

Latest

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in