Morning:
13°c
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Barry Millington's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Charles Edwards.
Cast: The Royal Opera, Mark Elder (cond), Charles Edwards (des), Brigitte Reiffenstuel (des), Susan Bullock (Elektra), Anne Schwanewilms (Chrysothemis), Jane Henschel (Klytemnestra), Johan Reuter (Orest), Monika-Evelin Liiv (Second Maid), Kathleen Wilkinson (Third Maid), Elizabeth Woollett (Fourth Maid), Eri Nakamura (Fifth Maid), Miriam Murphy (Overseer), Alfie Boe (Young Servant), Louise Armit (Confidante), Dervia Ramsey (Trainbearer), Vuyani Mlinde (Tutor Of Orest), Frank Van Aken (Aegisth), Jeremy White (Old Servant), Frances McCafferty (First Maid)
Description: Strauss's reading of the classical Greek tragedy, directed by Charles Edwards and conducted by Mark Elder. With Susan Bullock as Elektra, Anne Schwanewilms as Chrysothemis and Jane Henschel as Klytemnestra. Sung in German with English surtitles.
Trains: Tube: Covent Garden 
Phone: 0207304 4000
Website: www.roh.org.uk
Email: onlinebooking@roh.org.uk
Extra info: Air Conditioning, Food
That’s the way to do it: Susan Bullock as the avenging Elektra
After hearing the news of the hated Aegisth’s murder, Elektra disports herself in a wild, triumphal dance. Susan Bullock brings her searing performance in the title role of Covent Garden’s revival of Strauss’s opera to a climax with a maenadic sequence of earthy physicality before submitting to a bloody death herself.
Moments later, when the curtain rose again to reveal her caked in blood, the ovation she received was thunderous. And rightly so.
No other British soprano can touch Bullock in this role. She has sung it all over Europe and is at long last getting the recognition she so richly deserves.
What makes her so commanding an Elektra is not just her raw, visceral power as the avenging daughter but also a capacity for sweet-toned lyricism (heard especially in the famous Recognition Scene with her brother Orestes) and the wicked gleam in her voice as she mocks sister Chrysothemis and mother Klytemnestra. Jane Henschel in the latter role is equally more than a grotesque. Ripping off her risible wig to reveal dishevelled white hair, she engages us with her inner torment.
Another triumph is Anne Schwanewilms as a cowering neurotic able to rise to thrilling heights of lyrical fervour. Johan Reuter brings a firm Wagnerian timbre and imposing presence to the role of Orestes.
Charles Edwards develops his production, fleshing it out with Freudian insights and sustaining an impressive arc of tension over the work’s unbroken span. No less crucial is the conducting of Mark Elder, who demonstrates that the score is no mere battering-ram. There is frequently lightness and tonal variety too (“fairy music”, as Strauss alluded to it). Elder’s handling of the score, subtly nuanced, is revelatory.
Until 24 November (020 7304 4000).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
