Verdi's Don Carlo and "Illuminations"
Monday 9 June 2008 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)
Gabriel Gbadamosi reviews Nicholas Hytner's new production of Verdi's Don Carlo at the Royal Opera House with Rolando Villazon in the title role, Simon Keenlyside singing the role of Rodrigo and Marina Poplavskaya singing Elisabetta di Valois.
He also talks to pianist-turned-writer and academic Eva Hoffman about her novel Illuminations. It's about American concert pianist Isabel Merton who, whilst on a European tour, meets a political exile from war-torn Chechnya with life-changing effect.
ROLANDO VILLAZON AS DON CARLOS
Rolando Villazon as Don Carlos. Photo by Catherine Ashmore
Playlist
Don Carlo
Night Waves reviews Verdi's masterpiece Don Carlo as it opens in a new production at the Royal Opera House. Richard Coles joins Gabriel Gbadamosi to discuss Nicholas Hytner's staging of the dramatic conflicts at the heart of Mid-16th Century Spain.
Don Carlo is in repertory at the Royal Opera House until Thursday 3rd July 2008
Eva Hoffmann
Gabriel talks to the Polish-born writer Eva Hoffman, whose latest novel interrogates the responsibilities of music and art. Illuminations tells the story of classical pianist Isabel Merton, whose chance encounter with a mysterious Chechen forces her to confront her deep-held beliefs about romanticism and musical truth.
Illuminations is published by Harvill Secker
The Revenger's Tragedy
The directors of two new productions of The Revenger's Tragedy explain why the play is still relevant today. Thomas Middleton, one of the very few Jacobean dramatists to rank alongside Shakespeare, is now generally acknowledged as the author of the bloody tale of lust, revenge and murder. Brought to prominence in the nineteen sixties by Trevor Nunn in a production which later evoked comparisons with Fellini's La Dolce Vita, it is now being revived with two productions of the play opening at the National in London and the Royal Exchange in Manchester.
The Revenger's Tragedy runs from 4th June to 7th August at the National Theatre in London, and at the Manchester Royal Exchange from 28th May to 28th June. For further information, please go to these websites: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk and www.royalexchange.co.uk/
Ethical Arts
Should the arts be ethical? Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre joins Night Waves to discuss what the creative industries can do for society, and what kind of values the arts should represent.
Culture and Consequence: The Role of Ethics in the Arts Todayis from 10am to 5pm on Thursday 12 June 2008 at Kings College London
