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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Fiona Maddocks's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Christof Loy.
Cast: The Royal Opera, John Eliot Gardiner (cond), Herbert Murauer (des), English Baroque Soloists, Kurt Streit (Don Anchise), Genia Kuhmeier (Marchioness Violante/Sandrina), Christoph Strehl (Count Belfiore), Camilla Tilling (Arminda), Sophie Koch (Ramiro), Patrizia Biccire (Serpetta), Christopher Maltman (Roberto/Nardo)
Description: The 18 year-old Mozart's tale of mixed emotions and muddled identities, directed by Christof Loy and conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, with Genia Kuhmeier as Marchioness Violante/Sandrina and Christoph Strehl as Count Belfiore. Sung in Italian 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
Annika Haller had the task of bringing the modern-dress Dusseldorf staging to life
La Finta Giardiniera, completed when Mozart was 18, is best regarded as a work of prophecy. All the seeds of his brief, dazzling maturity are contained within its span.
Yet even with the advocacy of Sir John Eliot Gardiner it fails to spring to complete dramatic life, despite the many real pleasures on the way.
With his own English Baroque Soloists in the pit, Gardiner brings characteristic febrile energy to the episodic arias, each clear in emotional directness but lacking sufficient context to stir our engagement until the sombre third act, when the drama steps up a gear, and the music with it.
The production was something of a non-event after director Chrisoph Loy walked out leaving Annika Haller to bring the modern-dress 1998 Dusseldorf staging to life. But there was far too little in the way of tight control, encouraging some hammy acting which nevertheless raised laughs from the far-from-packed auditorium. Perhaps at this late stage in the Mozart anniversary year the appetite for novelty is waning?
Most of the darkest music goes to Sandrina, the disguised gardener of the title who is, naturally, a Marchioness. Genia Kuhmeier, though sympathetic, took a while to settle and suffered tonal lapses. Patrizia Biccirè's maid had esprit. Camilla Tilling, as Arminda, "a Milanese lady", offered a full vanity case of cat-walk gestures, flooring Robert Murray as the fickle Belfiore.
Only two voices really stood out, however: Sophie Koch in the trouser role of Ramiro whose Act III vengeance aria makes you sit up to attention, and Christopher Maltman in the cameo role of Nardo, the servant-gardener. There are only so many things you can do with a watering can. He tried them all.
• In rep until 4 October (020 7304 4000)
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
