All stories by Inge Kjemtrup on BroadwayStars

Friday, February 14, 2020

Madam Butterfly at Artsdepot, London – ‘a fresh, inventive take on Puccini’s opera’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Some of the most beloved operas come freighted with the heaviest cultural baggage. Consider Madama Butterfly, Puccini’s 1904 opera. Set in Nagasaki,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 01:14PM
Monday, January 13, 2020

Prisoner of the State review at Barbican Centre, London – ‘a powerful reworking of Fidelio’ by Inge Kjemtrup

The boundless cruelty of a government that imprisons and tortures its opponents, the soul-destroying complicity of functionaries who uphold the state’s brutality

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 12:26PM
Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Leonardo review at Victoria and Albert Museum, London – ‘intriguing new opera’ by Inge Kjemtrup

This year marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, and his life and works are being celebrated around the world

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:15AM
Monday, October 28, 2019

Rinaldo review at Glyndebourne, Lewes – ‘diverting but hollow production of Handel’s opera’ by Inge Kjemtrup

A stirring if fanciful epic poem about the First Crusade by Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso has, for centuries, been a rich

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:47AM
Tuesday, October 1, 2019

The Elixir of Love review at King’s Head Theatre, London – ‘invigorating and witty’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Donizetti’s comic opera classic receives an invigorating new English-language production at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington. A co-production of King’s Head and

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:15AM
Monday, September 23, 2019

Dear Marie Stopes review at Kings Place, London – ‘short but potent’ by Inge Kjemtrup

In 1918, birth-control advocate Marie Stopes published Married Life, a book that ignited a firestorm of controversy for its daring premise that

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:03AM
Tuesday, September 10, 2019

The Picture of Dorian Gray review at the Bedford, London – ‘ambitious but patchy new opera’ by Inge Kjemtrup

The Picture of Dorian Gray has inspired many playwrights and composers to translate it to the stage. A new operatic adaptation by

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:27AM
Thursday, August 15, 2019

Fulham Opera’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg review – ‘refreshing compact contemporary take’ by Inge Kjemtrup

An opera about a singing contest would seem an obvious candidate for a modern-era production and that’s exactly what Fulham Opera has

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:50AM
Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Bride and Gloom review at Bampton Opera, Oxfordshire – ‘a sparkling score’ by Inge Kjemtrup

English composer Stephen Storace was a contemporary and friend of Mozart, and his 1785 opera Gli Sposi Malcontenti contains all the essential

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:40AM
Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Un Ballo in Maschera review at Opera Holland Park, London – ‘a visual feast’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Political drama or romantic tragedy? Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera has elements of both with its plot about the assassination of the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:33AM
Monday, June 10, 2019

Das Rheingold review at Longborough Festival Opera – ‘a generally excellent cast of singers’ by Inge Kjemtrup

To launch a new Ring cycle is an ambitious undertaking for any opera company. It’s even more audacious when the company in

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:33AM
Friday, May 24, 2019

Lagrime di San Pietro review at Barbican, London – ‘potent staging of a Renaissance masterpiece’ by Inge Kjemtrup

On the day of the European Union elections, to see Peter Sellars’ staged version of an a cappella Renaissance choral work, Orlando

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:20AM
Tuesday, January 15, 2019

La Traviata review at Royal Opera House, London – ‘Engaging revival’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Richard Eyre’s production of La Traviata is a mainstay of the Royal Opera House, and Bob Crowley’s lavish design is one major

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:45AM
Monday, November 26, 2018

It’s a Wonderful Life review at San Francisco Opera – ‘a visual treat’ by Inge Kjemtrup

American composer Jake Heggie is best known for his opera Dead Man Walking. His predilection for turning to popular sources continues with

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:42AM
Tuesday, October 16, 2018

La Traviata review at Glyndebourne – ‘curiously uninvolving’ by Inge Kjemtrup

La Traviata is all about passion. Passion propels the opera’s drama forward, from the moment the impulsive Violetta decides to abandon her

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:35AM
Wednesday, October 3, 2018

La Traviata review at King’s Head Theatre, London – ‘passion, power and pole dancing’ by Inge Kjemtrup

The feisty opera company at the King’s Head Theatre, under the artistic direction of Adam Spreadbury-Maher, likes to drill down to the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:44AM
Monday, October 1, 2018

Salome review at London Coliseum – ‘visually arresting, but decidedly peculiar’ by Inge Kjemtrup

From a feminist perspective, the character of Salome is seriously problematic. In Richard Strauss’s opera, based on Oscar Wilde’s play, she’s a

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:10AM
Wednesday, September 5, 2018

The Rake’s Progress review at Peacock Theatre, London – ‘some fine moments’ by Inge Kjemtrup

“Since it is not by merit we rise or we fall, but the favour of Fortune that governs us all.” That sounds

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 01:23PM
Monday, August 13, 2018

Greek review, Arcola Theatre, London – ‘energetic revival of Turnage’s outrageous opera’ by Inge Kjemtrup

It’s no wonder that Greek, Mark-Anthony Turnage’s first opera, made the 28-year-old composer’s name in 1988. Turnage’s brilliant, percussive score took an

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:01AM
Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Cinderella review at Bampton Classical Opera – ‘a purposeful staging of a forgotten opera’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Had Rossini not composed Le Cenerentola in 1817, it’s possible that the most famous operatic version of Perrault’s fairytale Cendrillon would be

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:09AM
Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Ariadne Auf Naxos review at Opera Holland Park, London – ‘a vibrant production’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Hot on the heels of a well-received revival of Mascagni’s forgotten Isabeau, Opera Holland Park chalks up its first Richard Strauss opera with a

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:11AM
Wednesday, June 13, 2018

The Barber of Seville review at Grange Festival, Hampshire – ‘witty and entertaining’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville requires a fine balance between fast-paced slapstick and stand-and-deliver vocal showpieces, and an enjoyable new production from

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:52AM
Monday, March 5, 2018

Il Tabarro / Gianni Schicchi review at Hackney Empire, London – ‘high energy’ by Inge Kjemtrup

English Touring Opera’s revival production of Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi provides a reminder of the wide range of emotion Puccini crammed

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:12AM
Monday, November 27, 2017

Girls of the Golden West review at War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco – ‘a flawed gem’ by Inge Kjemtrup

The operas of John Adams – Nixon in China, Doctor Atomic and The Death of Klinghoffer among them – confront the American

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:07AM
Monday, November 13, 2017

The Enchanted Pig review at Jacksons Lane, London – ‘a hugely enjoyable evening’ by Inge Kjemtrup

The course of love never does run smooth and neither does the course of most fairytales. Random cruelty and stunning setbacks abound

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:29AM
Friday, October 27, 2017

Don Giovanni review at Pleasance Theatre, London – ‘a provocative idea’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Directors of Mozart’s Don Giovanni are often seduced into seeking out a plausible explanation for the title character’s unrepentant womanising. For the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 12:13PM
Monday, October 9, 2017

Cosi fan Tutte review at Glyndebourne – ‘comedy to savour’ by Inge Kjemtrup

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Naples, but it might as well be the frozen North for two young men who have

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 08:51AM
Friday, September 29, 2017

ENO’s Aida review at London Coliseum – ‘a musical and visual spectacle’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Verdi’s Aida lends itself to spectacle. Set in ancient Egypt, and with temple scenes and triumphal processions crucial to the plot, it’s

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:54AM
Friday, August 4, 2017

Hummus review at Lewis Cubitt Square, London – ‘flavoured with equal parts humour and pathos’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Who can resist hummus, that delicious blend of chickpeas, olive oil and garlic? It’s a Middle Eastern cultural touchstone and the name

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:21AM
Thursday, July 20, 2017

The Merchant of Venice review at Royal Opera House, London – ‘incisively played’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Exactly why composer Andre Tchaikowsky – gay, Jewish and depressive – chose The Merchant of Venice, with its heavy-handed anti-Semitism, as the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 11:35AM
Wednesday, July 12, 2017

La Voix Humaine review at Kings Place, London – ’50 shades of emotion in 50 minutes’ by Inge Kjemtrup

Poulenc’s one-woman opera La Voix Humaine opens with a woman, Elle, sitting alone, waiting for her lover to ring. She swings from

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 06:49AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards