Nick Hammond

Nick Hammond, Professor in French at Cambridge University, regularly writes reviews for "The Times Literary Supplement" and is a former member of the Birmingham Symphony Chorus under the baton of Simon Rattle. His books include "The Cambridge History of French Literature" (Cambridge University Press, 2011, as co-editor), "Gossip, Sexuality and Scandal in France 1610-1715" (Peter Lang, 2011), and "The Powers of Sound and Song in Early Modern Paris" (Penn State UP, 2019). 

Platée

March 19, 2014 | By Nick Hammond | Music

For the Love of a God,Nymph Risks Parody Marcel Beekman as a forlorn Platée. Photo: Monika Rittershaus Tucked away behind the Grand Boulevards, the Opéra Comique is one of those Parisian gems that are all too easy to miss. Although … Read More

I Puritani

December 8, 2013 | By Nick Hammond | Music

Bel Canto Version ofEnglish Civil War Maria Agresta as Elvira in “I Puritani.” Photo: Opéra National de Paris/Andrea Messana Vincenzo Bellini’s 11th and final opera, I Puritani, has strong Parisian roots, having been premiered at the city’s Théâtre-Italien in January … Read More

Alceste & The Makropoulos Case

September 16, 2013 | By Nick Hammond | Music

Greeks and Glamour Open Paris Opera Season Sophie Koch as Alceste comforts her children. Photo: Opéra National de Paris/Agathe Poupeney When the Viennese composer Christoph Willibald Gluck wrote confidently in 1776, at the time of its first French production, that … Read More