Critical (re)evaluation

This month's Opera Magazine has a review of ETO's premiere performance of Alexander Goehr's new opera Promised End by Andrew Porter. Porter gives the piece a long and thoughtful review which is very positive, quite a lot more positive than some of the reviews in the daily newspapers. I also found the work a little disappointing but Porter's valuable review has made me want to re-assess the work and hear it again. This is particularly true as ETO's performance will undoubtedly develop as their tour progresses.

Also in this month's Opera Magazine is a review of the CD of Michael Berkeley's latest opera, For You. For this opera Berkeley worked with Ian McEwen rather than David Malouf who had done the librettos for his previous operas. I have to confess that I have not seen For Your but have admired Berkeley's previous work. George Hall, in his review, seems unconvinced, describing the 'grey and anonymous ariosos', referring to the work as 'tiresome' and saying that Berkeley's two previous operas were more engaging.