thu 15/05/2025

David Nice

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Bio
The classical music and opera editor of theartsdesk, David writes, lectures and broadcasts on music. A former music critic for The Guardian and The Sunday Correspondent, he has made regular appearances on BBC Radio 3, not least in the long-running series Building a Library. He has written short studies on Elgar, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and the history of opera, and is currently working on the second volume of his Prokofiev biography for Yale University Press. He runs two Zoom lecture series, Opera in Depth on Mondays and a symphonies course on Thursdays.

Articles By David Nice

Mamzer Bastard, Royal Opera, Hackney Empire review - inert Hasidic music-drama

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theartsdesk at the Setúbal Music Festival 2018: youth leads the way

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Lohengrin, Royal Opera review - swan mystery musically illuminated

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La finta semplice, Classical Opera, QEH review - consummate musicianship stokes early Mozart

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Capriccio, Garsington Opera review - a classy evening with words and music

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Bavarian State Orchestra, Kirill Petrenko, Barbican review - Mahler's Seventh as dance suite

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Berlin Philharmonic, Rattle, RFH review - everything but inscape

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Karen Cargill, Simon Lepper, Wigmore Hall review - opulence within bounds

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Der Rosenkavalier, Glyndebourne - detailed acting, great singing

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An Audience with Dame Cleo Laine, RFH review - a phenomenon at 90

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The Rosenkavalier film, OAE, Paterson, QEH review - silent-era muddle expertly accompanied

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Chopin's Piano, Tiberghien, Kildea, Brighton Festival review - mumbled words, magical music

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Life and Fate / Uncle Vanya, Maly Drama Theatre, Theatre Royal Haymarket review - the greatest ensemble?

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Lucy Crowe, Anna Tilbrook, Wigmore Hall review - the eternal and ephemeral feminine

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Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dudamel, Barbican review - brilliant if overwhelming showcase

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Nikolai Lugansky / Pavel Kolesnikov, Wigmore Hall review - lucidity and depth from two master pianists

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Huw Watkins’ Concerto for Orchestra, the fourth new work of his to be commissioned and premiered by the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder, is...