Final Programme Lfc vs Real Madrid Paris 28.05.22

Who loves whom in Così fan tutte, Mozart’s and Da Ponte’s cruelly comic reflection on desire, fidelity and betrayal? Or have the confusions to which the main characters subject one another ensured that in spite of the heartfelt love duets and superficially fleetfooted comedy nothing will work any longer and that a sense of emotional erosion has replaced true feelings? Così fan tutte is a timeless work full of questions that affect us all. The Academy Award-winning director Michael Haneke once said that he was merely being precise and did not want to distort reality.

800 litres of water, two sails, thirty pulleys, sixty hammocks: for the Bicentenary of the Teatro Real of Madrid, Deborah Warner coined a colossal production of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. A critically-acclaimed performance, praised for its depth and intelligence. Baritone Jacques Imbrailo delivers a stunning rendition of the young sailor's part, while British singers Toby Spence and Brindley Sherratt provide solid interpretations of Captain 'Starry' Vere and of John Claggart. In the pit, Ivor Bolton masterfully deploys, along with the Orchestra of the Teatro Real, all the energy and power of Britten's fifth opera. A now iconic production, co-produced by the Opera of Rome and the Royal Opera House.

The subject of many poor quality bootlegs, this concert - one of only a handful undertaken by Fripp & Eno - is routinely described as ‘legendary’.

Luis Pasqual's powerful production for the Spanish capital sets Da Ponte's timeless story of sleaze and seduction into the dark world of 1940s Spain. Carlos Álvarez, in the title role, toys with the affections of Donna Anna, Zerlina and the Spanish lady Donna Elvira, before his overpowering methods finally bring his own destruction. "José Bros is a luxurious Don Ottavio, with an excellent high register, perfect diction and an exquisite vocal elegance. Alvarez is the perfect Trickster of Seville. Victor Pablo Pérez, one of the most reputed conductors of the Spanish scene, manages a crystal clear work, very attentive to the beauty of Mozart's score." (La Razón, Madrid)

Rene Thomas was a Belgian guitarist who hoped to make it big on the international jazz scene following his move to Paris and a flurry of recording activity in the 1950s and early 1960s, though his goal ultimately eluded him. This CD in Verve's Jazz in Paris reissue series combines two separate dates originally made for Barclay and Polydor. For the most part, Thomas' approach to the guitar is rather laid back, particularly in his spacious arrangement to "All the Things You Are."

Rene Thomas was a Belgian guitarist who hoped to make it big on the international jazz scene following his move to Paris and a flurry of recording activity in the 1950s and early 1960s, though his goal ultimately eluded him. This CD in Verve's Jazz in Paris reissue series combines two separate dates originally made for Barclay and Polydor. For the most part, Thomas' approach to the guitar is rather laid back, particularly in his spacious arrangement to "All the Things You Are."