Page 85 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024
P. 85
Benjamin Britten’s Aldeburgh Festival celebrates its 75 anniversary this year and it’s a
th
bumper programme. Most intriguing is a new staging of Britten’s extraordinary Curlew
River, 60 years on from its festival premiere. Ian Bostridge steps into original tenor
Peter Pears’ shoes as the Madwoman, first searching for then mourning her lost child,
in this haunting piece of music-theatre. Part-ritual (the piece draws on traditions of
Japanese Noh theatre) and part-drama, it’s a meditation that cuts to the heart of grief
and loss – a strange, alien experience full of unexpected textures and gestures. There’s
also a rare opportunity to see Sumidigawa – the Noh drama that inspired it –
performed by Japanese artists. AC
7 – 23 June (brittenpearsarts.org, 01728687110)
Opera
The Merry Widow
Glyndebourne, East Sussex
What do you get if you cross the West End’s king of physical comedy Cal McCrystal
with the sumptuous waltzes of Franz Lehar – “the last king of operetta”? A right royal
smash. A lavish new production of will-they-won’t-they love-farce The Merry
Widow inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood promises ballgowns and chorus girls
galore, while a new English translation brings the satirical laughs bang up to date.
Glyndebourne’s own leading lady Danielle de Niese takes the title role, with conductor
John Wilson in the pit ensuring a score spun from pure musical gold. AC
9 June – 28 July (glyndebourne.com, 01273 815 000)
Books
Parade by Rachel Cusk
This novel will be unlike any you have read before, such is Cusk’s talent for breaking
new ground with her writing. Best known for her deeply charged and unforgettable
Outline trilogy, the author here pulls together fragments of plot – a mother dying; a
woman attacked on the street; a painter beginning to paint upside down – in order to
tell a story about art, identity, gender and family. It confirms Cusk as one of the UK’s
most talented literary writers. AB
18 June (Faber, £16.99)
Books
Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan
