Nick Hammond
Barbe Bleue
Déjà Lu, Bubbles and All
Regular readers of Amélie Nothomb’s literary output might be forgiven for finding her latest offering, Barbe Bleue, somewhat familiar. In this novel, timed as always to coincide with la rentrée, the story centers on a person entering a mysterious home … Read More
The Tales of Hoffmann & Capriccio
Two Self-Regarding OperasTake the Stage Jane Archibald (Olympia) and Stefano Secco (Hoffmann). Photo: Opéra national de Paris/Ian Patrick The two productions opening the Paris opera season, Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann and Richard Strauss’s Capriccio (at the Bastille and … Read More
Adieu Berthe: L’Enterrement de Mémé
Wannabe Screwball Comedy Overplays Its Hand
Judging from the gales of laughter in the cinema and the number of people who left before the end of Adieu Berthe: L’Enterrement de Mémé (Granny’s Funeral) on the evening I saw it, you are going to either love or … Read More
Arabella
Fleming Ravishing AsStrauss’s Arabella Renée Fleming (Arabella), Iride Martinez (Die Fiakermilli) and Eric Huchet (Graf Elemer). Photo: Opéra national de Paris/Ian Patrick I blush to admit that every (mercifully rare) time I find myself on a grand staircase during a … Read More
Chez Sylvain
Paris Update Flash News BURNT BAR BLUES A Nana Mouskouri album cover amid the debris. A much-loved institution in Paris’s ninth arrondissement, the corner bar Chez Sylvain, went up in flames last week. Although Sylvain himself got out safely, his … Read More
Don Giovanni
The Dark Side of The Don A scene from Michael Haneke’s production of Don Giovanni. Photo: Opéra National de Paris/ Charles Duprat The figure of Don Giovanni (or Don Juan) has long fascinated dramatists, artists and directors alike. He is … Read More
Césars 2012
Cesars VS. Oscars: Which Wins For Worst Awards Ceremony? It might seem difficult to beat the Oscars for toe-curlingly awful acceptance speeches, but the Césars (held two nights before the Oscars, thereby allowing all the stars of The Artist just enough … Read More
La Cenerentola
Jeannette Fischer as Clorinda, Karine Deshayes as Angelina and Anna Wall as Tisbe. Photo: Opéra national de Paris/Agathe Poupeney I must admit to having felt some trepidation in going to see Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella) at the Opéra Garnier this … Read More
Diapasons d’Or
DIAPASONS D’OR One of the highlights of last week’s concert for the Diapasons d’Or, the French equivalent of the Oscars for classical music, was the Young Talent of the Year, soprano Julia Lezhneva, whose sensational performance of one of … Read More
Le Petit Canard
Duck, Duck, No Goose
Click here for a more recent review of this restaurant. A recent survey reported that the current favorite dish of the French is magret de canard, which came as a surprise to me, as it is served relatively rarely in … Read More