On my radar: Lesley Sharp’s cultural highlights The actor on her love of dance, the reality TV series Below Deck and what helps her to write The Guardian - UK · Jun 24, 2023
The week in classical: Requiem; Jerusalem Quartet review – another five-star fusion from Opera North Sorrowful Mozart meets unstoppable Neo Muyanga in an inspired double bill from Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre. Plus, the sounds of Yiddish cabaret… The Guardian - UK · Jun 3, 2023
Requiem review – Mozart meets stomping South African movement A double bill from Phoenix Dance Theatre and Opera North contrasts Mozart’s wretched souls with Neo Muyanga’s After Party – two very different ways of dealing with death The Guardian - UK · May 28, 2023
The week in classical: The Pearl Fishers; Takács Quartet – review Opera North’s latest concert staging goes big on pearls, with commitment to match. And the peerless Takács give a masterclass in delayed gratification The Guardian - UK · May 20, 2023
Victoria Leeds welcomes new opening as it kicks off spring season There's an exciting new immersive experience which has also been launched by the Victoria Leeds team Leeds Live · Mar 30, 2023
Kino, Leeds: ‘Expect dramatic bursts of harissa and tahini’ – restaurant review The brasserie at Opera North features a rotating cast of pop-up stars, and Levantine-inspired MorMor is a fine example. By Jay Rayner The Guardian - UK · Feb 26, 2023
Music superstars to play huge outdoor Leeds city centre shows this summer There's some great events coming to Millennium Square in Leeds this summer Leeds Live · Feb 25, 2023
OPINION - Rishi needs to summon his Jedi skills or face electoral oblivion Rishi Sunak is a huge Star Wars fan and it’s been said that he looks to the films for inspiration, both personally and politically. The power of The Force in Star Wars can be seen as a metaphor for faith that resonates and inspires from within. Our Prime Minister does… Evening Standard · Feb 24, 2023
The best theatre, dance and comedy tickets to book for 2023 Danny Boyle’s Matrix-inspired spectacular opens in Manchester, Succession star Brian Cox returns to the stage and standups Maisie Adam, Guz Khan and Catherine Cohen are on tour The Guardian - UK · Dec 26, 2022
Classical music: Fiona Maddocks’s 10 best concerts and operas of 2022 Excellence and perilous funding went hand in hand, Salome sizzled, a piano great led the way, and India and Italy became musical neighbours The Guardian - UK · Dec 17, 2022
A fight at the opera: could forcing ENO up north work out? The ultimatum to English National Opera was attacked as ‘cultural vandalism’, but raised some hopes nearer Manchester The Guardian - UK · Nov 27, 2022
England no longer values the profound, weird art of opera – and that leaves us all poorer Cutting funding to ENO will do nothing for ‘levelling up’, but it will do deep, unnecessary damage to our shared cultural life, says Guardian chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins The Guardian - UK · Nov 19, 2022
We don’t want to bring down the curtain on ENO, but opera has to change Funding shake-ups have come as a shock, but offer the art form an opportunity to find a new direction and new audiences, says Darren Henley of Arts Council England The Guardian - UK · Nov 14, 2022
Slashing English National Opera’s funding is cultural vandalism Letters: Withdrawing state subsidy and moving the company to Manchester will destroy it, writes John Nickson. Plus letters from Tony Lamb, Elspeth Knights and Joanne Columbine The Guardian - UK · Nov 11, 2022
The Guardian - UK · Oct 22, 2022 The week in classical: Orpheus; Apartment House review – rich, rewarding, different Opera North’s teeming fusion of Monteverdi with Indian classical traditions is an inspired match. Elsewhere, more mind-bending harmonies from Apartment House
Leeds Live · Oct 15, 2022 Orpheus in the Record Shop review: The ultimate Leeds tragicomedy with beat-box and an orchestra MC Testament's musical one-man show has been co-produced by Leeds Playhouse and Opera North
The Guardian - UK · Jul 12, 2022 David Lloyd-Jones obituary Founding conductor of Opera North and a champion of Russian operas and British symphonies
The Guardian - UK · Jul 10, 2022 We Are Lady Parts leads South Bank Sky Arts award winners Sitcom about Muslim female punk band wins best comedy as Opera North, Little Simz and Monica Ali also triumph
The Guardian - UK · Jun 15, 2022 A knight’s tale: Brindley Sherratt on the stamina and storytelling of Wagner’s Parsifal The bass is singing Gurnemanz in Wagner’s epic final opera. How do you get to grips with the challenges of such a demanding role – and still not get the best dressing room?
The Guardian - UK · Jun 11, 2022 The week in classical: Parsifal; Eugene Onegin; Scriabin: Poems of Ecstasy and Fire Opera North’s new Wagner production is one to remember; OHP take on Tchaikovsky’s perfect opera; and Bold Tendencies go to town with Scriabin’s synaesthesia
Leeds Live · May 27, 2022 Opera North to open new Leeds city centre restaurant Kino with guest chefs Opera North is collaborating with local food producers to create their menus
The Guardian - UK · Apr 15, 2022 Mira Calix obituary Composer and artist whose work ranged from electronica to opera and interactive sound sculpture
Chronicle Live · Mar 30, 2022 Review: Opera North's Carmen at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle Has one of the most performed operas reached its sell-by date?
Chronicle Live · Mar 26, 2022 Alcina cast bring Handel's magical tale to life at Newcastle's Theatre Royal Wisconsin-born Patrick Terry steals the show in this dark, seductive tale
Chronicle Live · Mar 24, 2022 Covid can't stop opera stars as understudies shine in Rigoletto at Newcastle's Theatre Royal Kamohelo Tsotetsi and Yolisa Ngwexana took two of the lead roles in a modern interpretation of Rigoletto at the Theatre Royal, leaving the audience delighted