wed 14/05/2025

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

Faust, LSO, Gardiner, Barbican review - Schumann as never before

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Hallenberg, LSO, Gardiner, Barbican review - palpitating Schumann and Berlioz

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From the House of the Dead, Royal Opera review - Janáček's prison oddity prompts hot tears

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Fanny and Alexander, Old Vic review - agile but shallow Bergman adaptation

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theartsdesk in Germany - Baltic mastery in Berlin and Leipzig

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Iolanthe, English National Opera review - bright and beautiful G&S for all

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Carmen, Royal Opera review - clever concept, patchy singing, sexy dancing

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Baráti, Lyddon, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - Stravinsky's bright but derivative beginnings

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Capuçon, Philharmonia, Järvi, RFH review - Dvořák in blazing focus

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Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Milton Court review - Arvo Pärt plus

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Das Rheingold, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - orchestral revelations, but cursing Alberich trumps wooden Wotan

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The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Kneehigh on tour review - sweetest musical Chagalliana

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BBCSO, Pons, Barbican review - love hurts in vivid Spanish double bill

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Alexander Melnikov, Wigmore Hall review - three pianos, four monsterworks

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The Return of Ulysses, Royal Opera, Roundhouse review - musical drama trumps dodgy stagecraft

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Komsi, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican Hall review - Sibelius series ends in glory

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