Blogs

Wandering through the Jardin des Tuileries in blazing June sunshine was certainly one way to beat the Monday blues. The site of the former royal palace sprawled gracefully alongside wa...Read more

Simon Benger spends a night at Opera North for a performance of Dvořák's Rusalka - all photos © Alastair Muir

The Czech fairytale Rusalka is a bit like Disney's The ...Read more

The formidable critic Norman Lebrecht once said that if we ever needed proof of the classical record industry's demise, we need look no further than the Classical Brits. '[It&#...Read more

--Lauren Strain reports from the Songbook of the Earth gala concert at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 19 April, where more than 400 school children and the Manchester Came...Read more

So, it appears that I may be forced to backtrack and eat my words and/or hat re: Popstar to Operastar. 'Perspective' came the rallying cry, the show was supposed to be ...Read more

Southend bell

All pictures © Bill Fontana

The Thames snakes through the capital like a serpent claiming her territory. She wi...Read more

The intermittently deaf Mrs Richards is legendary in the farcical tales of Fawlty Towers. Hard-of-hearing Alice Richards refuses to turn up her hearing aid, for fear of running out the batteries. A...Read more

Simon Benger reviews Opera North's production of Puccini's La Bohème at The Lowry, Salford Quays, 23 February

Northern stars left to right Frederic Bourreau as Colline, Quir...Read more

-- A lengthy report from my mildly traumatising evening at Liverpool's FACT Gallery and Cinema on Monday, 22 February, 2010. If you find my rambling too much to bear and want to skip straight t...Read more

So, Darius Campbell - formally known as Darius Danesh, aka the one who didn't win Pop Idol - has been crowned the victor (or should that be victim?) of Popstar to...Read more