Music, opera and theatre reviews for @thetimes, @WhatsOnStage, @bachtrack, @SeenandHeardint & @theartsdesk. Firm believer that Bruckner gets a bad rap.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Joined February 2019
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Here's my review of David McVicar's new Turandot for @ScottishOpera, a ghoulish horror show that's gripping to watch and thrillingly sung. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ @thetimes @TimesArts
thetimes.com/article/0ad93e2…
Here's my review of @NTSonline's new production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie which opens it tour @lyceumedinburgh. It's too long, but it's often engrossing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @WhatsOnStage .
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at Royal Lyceum Theatre and on tour – review whatsonstage.com/news/the-pr…
ALT An actress sits on a stage, wearing a green professor's robe and a big blue bow
I went to a celebration of Steve Reich's 90th birthday in Gateshead @glasshouseicm, and it was a stunner. Here's my 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review @thetimes.
thetimes.com/culture/classic…
Here's my 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 @WhatsOnStage review of Siobhán Redmond’s marvellous Winnie in Beckett's Happy Days @pitlochryft. It's only on for two more weeks, so catch it while you can.
Happy Days at Pitlochry Festival Theatre – review whatsonstage.com/news/happy-…
ALT An actress on stage, wearing an evening dress, pearls and fascinator, buried up to her waist in sand
Here's my review of this year's @EastNeukFest: 5-star chamber music magic on the beautiful Fife Coast. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 @thetimes
thetimes.com/culture/classic…
Here's my review of a blockbuster @RSNO season finale led by Patrick Hahn, their super Principal Guest Conductor. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 @bachtrack
Joy unbounded: Beethoven 9 ends the @RSNO’s season with blockbuster flair
✍️ Simon Thompson
bachtrack.com/review-hahn-be…
Here's my review of The Long Drop @citizenstheatre , a show in Glasgow, of Glasgow, about Glasgow (and some nasty true murders). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️@whatsonstage
The Long Drop at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre – review whatsonstage.com/news/the-lo…
ALT Two actors in modern clothes sat on stage, one holding a cigarette
Here's my review of this weekend's @RSNO concert @theusherhall with the dependably excellent Patrick Hahn. Ecstasy, death, and sometimes both at once. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ @thetimes
thetimes.com/article/930ee96…
Here's my review of Once, Alan Cumming's first show as Artistic Director of @pitlochryft, and he doesn't play it safe. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @WhatsOnStage
Once musical at Pitlochry Festival Theatre – review whatsonstage.com/news/once-m…
ALT A photo showing two performers in vintage 90s attire sat on a bench together
Here's my review of Nicola Benedetti scaling the heights of Elgar's violin concerto with @RSNO, alongside @KKarabits's fabulous take on The Firebird. Better brush over Nagillar, however... ⭐⭐⭐⭐ @bachtrack
Elgarian emotion and Eastern exoticism from Benedetti, Karabits and the @RSNO
✍️Simon Thompson
bachtrack.com/review-karabit…
Here's my review of @ScottishOpera's Marriage of Figaro. Well sung and expertly directed, it's touring Scotland until June 20. Catch it while you can. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @thetimes
thetimes.com/culture/classic…
Here's my review of Sweat @citizenstheatre, also arriving later this month @lyceumedinburgh: a raw and powerful exploration not just of working class dilemmas but of human passions. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @WhatsOnStage
Sweat at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre – review whatsonstage.com/news/sweat-…
ALT Two actresses on a stage that resembles a bar, each with a glass of liquor in their hand
Here's my review @thetimes of this year's @tectonicsglas with @BBCSSO & Ilan Volkov: infuriating in places, but often lots of fun. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ @TimesArts
thetimes.com/culture/classic…
Here's my review of Frances Poet's warm, funny, moving new play @TronTheatre with @NTSonline. Probably the most entertaining play you'll ever see about an industrial dispute. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ @WhatsOnStage
Stand and Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-in at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and on tour – review whatsonstage.com/news/stand-…
ALT A group of actors on stage wearing blue factory uniforms
Here's my review of @RSNO playing with the dazzling duo of John Wilson and Stephen Hough @theusherhall last weekend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @bachtrack
Piano wizardry: Stephen Hough makes a convincing case for Rachmaninov 1 with the
@RSNO
✍️ Simon Thompson
bachtrack.com/review-wilson-…
Rafael R. Villalobos tries to turn Un Ballo in Maschera into something it isn't, and has Anna Netrebko passed her peak? Here's my review of Berlin's new Ballo on @SeenandHeardInt
seenandheard-international.c…
Here's my review @SeenandHeardInt of Berlin Staatsoper's Festtage Rosenkavalier. Let's just say I was in pieces by the end of Act 1. 🌹
seenandheard-international.c…
Here’s my review of @ScottishOpera’s brave foray back into Wagner, their concert staging of Tristan und Isolde. Variable singing, but powerful, stripped-back drama. See it on Wednesday @theusherhall. @thetimes @timesculture
thetimes.com/culture/classic…
Here's my review of Donald Runnicles conducting @BBCSSO last weekend in Mahler 2. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @theartsdesk
theartsdesk.com/classical-mu…
Here's my review on @SeenandHeardInt of @RSNO's concert last weekend. Jörg Widmann conducts his own music with vim, but his Beethoven is more patchy (or was that down to where I was sitting?).
seenandheard-international.c…