{"id":946595,"date":"2026-05-08T18:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/946595\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T18:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:07:16","slug":"michael-whites-classical-news-samson-et-dalila-joseph-phibbs-the-gesualdo-six-age-of-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/946595\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael White\u2019s classical news: Samson et Dalila; Joseph Phibbs; The Gesualdo Six; Age of Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samson et Dalila [ROH\/Clive Barda]<\/strong><\/p>\n

IT\u2019S the tale of a disastrous haircut, Samson and Delilah. Samson\u2019s strength derives from his follicular abundance, but Delilah takes her shears to it. With consequences worse than a misshapen mullet.<\/p>\n

For the details, see the Bible. For the passion that propels them, though, see Samson et Dalila by Saint-Sa\u00ebns, which plays at the Royal Opera House May 13-Jun 3 in a revival of Richard Jones\u2019s slightly bonkers 2022 production.<\/p>\n

Tenor Seokjong Baek won plaudits as the male lead last time, and returns now for another trim. New to the scissors, Aigul Akhmetshina takes the female lead, and will undoubtedly invest it with the sexual allure for which she\u2019s famous as the go-to Carmen on the circuit these days. Very much as Saint-Sa\u00ebns asked for.<\/p>\n

Not too bothered with religion, he was interested in the shimmering, exotic glamour of the East \u2013 which Richard Jones turns into razzmatazz so brazen you might want to shield your eyes. But as a spectacle it\u2019s entertaining. And the singing should be fabulous. rbo.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 No spectacle in Poulenc\u2019s The Carmelites at the Guildhall School May 11 & 13: it\u2019s a student semi-staging that reduces the opera to essentials. But this is a work that delivers gut-punches \u2013 especially at the end when an entire community of nuns goes to the guillotine. And even if the Guildhall\u2019s production doesn\u2019t show you a guillotine, you\u2019ll still hear one, as the sound of its falling blade is factored into Poulenc\u2019s score. Macabre, chilling, and yours for nothing because tickets are free! gsmd.ac.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Two interesting British composers have new works airing this week. May 13 at Kings Place brings the premiere of a Piano Quintet by Joseph Phibbs, who has a particular genius in chamber music: kingsplace.co.uk And lunchtime on May 8 at St Martin in the Fields, the young pianist\/singer\/composer Will Harmer presents, with friends, a programme of English music that includes his own songs: stmartin-in-the-fields.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 The Gesualdo Six are one of those elite vocal consorts who sing with style, intensity and drama \u2013 and never more so than in a show they toured a while ago about the high-risk Catholic Mass settings William Byrd was writing in 16th-century Protestant England. Staged immersively, by candlelight, with the period band Fretwork, it was an alarming experience. And it\u2019s back May 8-9 for performances at Smith Square under the title Secret Byrd. Not for those of nervous disposition. sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Anyone too delicate for Secret Byrd might think twice about Leonard Bernstein\u2019s Age of Anxiety: a symphony-cum-piano concerto inspired by the bleak post-war world view of WH Auden. But it\u2019s a fascinating piece, played by the LSO at the Barbican, May 10. Pappano conducts. Denis Kozhukhin is the soloist. barbican.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

And while he\u2019s in London, Kozhukhin stays for a Wigmore Hall recital the following lunchtime, May 11. Haydn & Brahms. wigmore-hall.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Later that evening, May 11, the dream-team of violinist Renaud Capu\u00e7on and pianist Igor Levit graces the Wigmore stage in all three violin sonatas by Brahms. wigmore-hall.org.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, two sumptuous mezzos, Sarah Connolly and Beth Taylor, join pianist Julius Drake in a mixed programme at Middle Temple Hall, May 12. templemusic.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

And firing on all cylinders just now, cellist Guy Johnston is at Wigmore Hall May 12 with pianist Melvyn Tan in a lunchtime programme that pairs the Barber sonata with a new work by composer, Matthew Kaner. wigmore-hall.org.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samson et Dalila [ROH\/Clive Barda] IT\u2019S the tale of a disastrous haircut, Samson and Delilah. Samson\u2019s strength derives…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":946596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,26018,393,4884,257,170593,18394,18395,16,15,18396],"class_list":{"0":"post-946595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-classical","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-michael-white","14":"tag-the-camden-new-journal","15":"tag-the-islington-tribune","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-west-end-extra"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116540293184755201","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=946595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/946596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=946595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=946595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=946595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}