Robert Beale

Manchester

Classical Music Writer at The Arts Desk

Classical Music Writer at Freelance

Classical Music Writer at Theatre Reviews North

Classical music writer @theartsdesk, @TRNreviews, https://t.co/OYuetTTrNW https://t.co/aRVLgDYJVU - my views.

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Articles

The Mikado

6 days ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Robert Beale

Gilbert & SullivanOpera Della LunaLowry, Salford8 - 10 May, 2025: 2 hours 45 minutesI liked this version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s poke at Victorian fascination with the Far East when it was new 20-plus years ago; I liked it when it came round again in 2014 – and I’ve enjoyed it on its return to Salford’s Lowry as part of Opera della Luna’s 30th anniversary.
Death of a Salesman

2 weeks ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Robert Beale

Arthur MillerTrafalgar Theatre Productions and Raw MaterialLowry, Salford29 April - 3 May, 2025: 2 hours 45 minutesArthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman remains a great and moving play, a tragedy of mid-20th century America, and the title role of Willy Loman is one of the great roles for a male actor in his maturity. This production, originating at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow and now at the close of a tour, puzzles as much as it moves.
Simon Boccanegra, Opera North review - ‘dramatic staging’ proves its worth

2 weeks ago | theartsdesk.com | Robert Beale

Opera North have recently pioneered a way of presenting some big works which they call “dramatic concert stagings”, performing in concert halls as well as theatres, with the orchestra on the platform behind the singers and a minimalist set, and the principals in present-day costumes symbolic of characters’ type. Some have had video projection as a backdrop, but it’s also been dispensable where necessary.
Mahler's Ninth, BBC Philharmonic, Gamzou, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - vision and intensity

1 month ago | theartsdesk.com | Robert Beale

There was a change of conductor from the one advertised for this BBC Philharmonic performance at the Bridgewater Hall – but the one who we heard from was an interpreter of extraordinary vision and intensity. Yoel Gamzou is also a composer in his own right, and a Mahler specialist, it would seem: he’s made his own completion of the Tenth Symphony, so he’s no doubt as aware of the language and creative imagination of that other composer-conductor as anyone.
Small, Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - return to Shostakovich’s ambiguous triumphalism

1 month ago | theartsdesk.com | Robert Beale

Kahchun Wong returned to the symphony with which he made his first big impression conducting the Hallé – and made a big impression with it again. The evening in February 2023 when he conducted Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony was his first concert with them, and it has to be said he was a relative unknown to many of the audience listening then and probably to most UK classical music fans.
Review: Abigail's Party, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

1 month ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Robert Beale

Mike LeighRoyal Exchange Theatre Company, directed by Natalie AbrahamiRoyal Exchange Theatre, Manchester4 April - 24 May, 2025: 2 hours 20 minutesMike Leigh’s window on the world of late 1970s suburban life has been brought Up North by Natalie Abrahami and the Royal Exchange Theatre Company. That works beautifully: it’s every bit as funny as we’ve seen before. Subtle it ain’t. Abigail’s Party was first performed in 1977 and is set in precisely that era, in Essex.
Owen Wingrave, Royal Northern College of Music

1 month ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Robert Beale

Myfanwy Piper and Benjamin Britten, after Henry JamesRoyal Northern College of MusicRNCM Manchester30 March - 5 April, 2025: 2 hoursRemaining performances on 3 and 5 AprilIt’s hard to like Owen Wingrave very much. It’s known as Britten’s “pacifist” opera – based on a story by Henry James (as The Turn of the Screw was, also adapted by Myfanwy Piper), but with rather less mystery and rather more abstract discussion.
Owen Wingrave, RNCM, Manchester review - battle of a pacifist

1 month ago | theartsdesk.com | Robert Beale

It’s quite ironic that the Royal Northern College of Music should have invited, as director of this, Britten’s avowedly pacifist opera, Orpha Phelan – whose version of his Billy Budd for Opera North nearly 10 years ago contained one of the most thrilling battle scenes ever staged. And, in her presentation of Owen Wingrave, war is not merely talked about, but seen.
Connolly, BBC Philharmonic, Paterson, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - a journey through French splendours

1 month ago | theartsdesk.com | Robert Beale

The BBC Philharmonic took its Saturday night audience on a journey into French sonic luxuriance – in reverse order of historical formation, beginning with Duruflé, continuing with Chausson and ending with Saint-Saëns. It was conducted by Geoffrey Paterson and featured Dame Sarah Connolly as mezzo-soprano soloist, neither of them the artists originally announced, but 100 per cent good value as their substitutes.
Opera North adds classic productions to new season mix

1 month ago | theatrereviewsnorth.com | Robert Beale

Leeds-based Opera North’s plans for 2025-26 – true to the company’s philosophy and tradition – have a strong streak of innovation but also offer two perennially popular operas. And in Leeds itself there’s operatic Christmas comedy in the form of a new show called Pass the Spoon: it’s set on a daytime TV cookery programme, hosted by “June Spoon” and “Phillip Fork” who, assisted by a manic-depressive egg and a highly-strung banana, must prepare a meal for Mr Granules, a demanding diner.