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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,
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.
