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Tim Ashley

Tim Ashley is a Guardian classical and opera critic, though he's also keen on literature and philosophy so you might sometimes find him cross-referencing all three. His work has also appeared in Literary Review and Opera magazine and he is author of a biography of Richard Strauss

May 2023

  • L to R on stairs: Venera Gimadieva as Donna Anna, Ruzan Mantashyan as Donna Elvira, Oleksiy Palchykov as Don Ottavio with Andrey Zhilikhovsky (centre on cake) as Don Giovanni & Mikhail Timoshenko (R) as Lepoello and members of The Glyndebourne Chorus in Don Giovanni opens Glyndebourne 19.05.23

    Don Giovanni review – obsession, distress and danger in uneven new production

    Mariame Clément’s thoughtful staging brings depth and insights but feels, at times, at odds with the score’s sensuality and demonic fire. In the pit, conductor Evan Rogister favours speed over dramatic weight.
  • The Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Iván Fischer at the Royal Festival Hall.

    Budapest Festival Orchestra/Fischer review – heart-rending and remarkable Mahler

    The searing dissonances and lyricism of Mahler’s Ninth, the composer’s poignant confrontation with mortality, are drawn out with remarkable clarity
  • Abomination a DUP Opera The Belfast Ensemble Brighton Festival 2023 credit Neil Harrison image 3

    Abomination: A DUP Opera review – brilliant satire skewers politicians with their own words

    Anger seethes beneath the Belfast Ensemble’s waltzes in Conor Mitchell’s scathing denunciation of homophobia and hate speech

April 2023

  • Simon Rattle conducting at the concert in the Barbican Hall on Sunday.

    BBC Singers/LSO review – music, and words, of power as Rattle protests vandalism of UK’s musical life

  • Complex emotional resonances … Zwakele Tshabalala (the son) and Kenneth Kellogg (the father) in Blue at English National Opera

    Blue review – racial violence, love and loss in a lyrical and angry work of unflinching power

  • Music that thrives on ambiguity … soloist Gil Shaham (centre), conductor Vladimir Jurowski (right) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

    LPO/Jurowski review – unsparing and unsettling works shine a dark light

  • Every word registered … Polyphony

    St John Passion review – Polyphony and OAE deliver an outstanding, vivid rendition

March 2023

  • Embargo on flying coffin image until curtain up on 25-03-23<br>Rolf Romei (Paul), Lauren Bridle (Marie) and Allison Oakes (Marietta) in The Dead City by Korngold @ London Coliseum. Directed by Annilese Miskimmon. Conductor by Kirill Karabits. (Opening 25-03-2023) ©Tristram Kenton 03-23 (3 Raveley Street, LONDON NW5 2HX TEL 0207 267 5550 Mob 07973 617 355)email: tristram@tristramkenton.com

    The Dead City review – study of grief, guilt and obsession unsettles and enraptures

  • David Joseph as Mozart with Chukwudi Iwuji as Joseph Bologne in the Chevalier.

    The Chevalier review – fascinating but flawed look at an extraordinary musician

  • Tenor Charles Styles singing the lead in Iain Bell’s Beowulf

    BBCSO/Brabbins review – last-minute change adds drama to Beowulf premiere

  • Bryn Terfel and singers from the European Opera Centre with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Photo Mark McNulty

    Gianni Schicchi review – Bryn Terfel on fine fraudulent form in Puccini’s dark comedy

  • LSO/Hannigan review – every note spoke volumes in uncompromising programme about grief

  • The English Concert/Bicket review – Handel of grace and elan as Bicket takes us back to 1749 London

February 2023

  • Hanna Hipp kneels before Jennifer France who sits at a backstage dressing-room table with lights all round the mirror

    Ariadne auf Naxos review – Strauss’s harlequinade gets a dusting of silver-screen magic

    Rodula Gaitanou’s relocation of Strauss’s opera to Rome’s Cinecittà studios brings many gains, plus there’s impeccable playing, lovely singing – Elizabeth Llewellyn’s Ariadne particularly – and even fireworks
  • howstopper … Britten Sinfonia and Joseph Tawadros (oud) conducted by Jamie Phillips at Milton Court, London.

    Britten Sinfonia/Phillips review – extraordinarily affecting east-west encounter

    One of our most vital ensembles offers a rare glimpse of an astonishing score from Frederick Delius, while Joseph Tawadros delivers stunning virtuosity and ‘heavy metal’ oud
  • It gained weight and momentum … Edward Gardner leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

    The Damnation of Faust review – Berlioz’s exemplary evocations of heaven and hell

    Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic offered a timely reminder of Berlioz’s astonishing gifts as a choral and orchestral writer

January 2023

  • Sensational … Lise Davidsen (Elisabeth) in Tannhäuser.

    Tannhäuser review – Lise Davidsen gleams though Albery’s Wagner misfires again

    Tim Albery’s second revival only fitfully illuminates the opera’s complexities, but the singing and acting are superb
  • Steven Isserlis (cello) and Maxim Emelyanychev (conducting) with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

    OAE/Emelyanychev review – Camille Saint-Saëns interpreted with tautness and clarity

    Emelyanychev sheds fresh light on the familiar, while superb solos culminate with an extraordinarily moving performance that seems to make time stand still
  • The LSO conducted by Tremendous … Amanda Majeski and Simon Rattle in Katya Kabanova.

    Katya Kabanova review – Rattle and Majeski capture the rapture and chaos of Janáček’s turbulent love story

    The LSO are on ravishing form, perfectly blending the lyricism and intensity of the score, while the whole cast deliver singing of the highest calibre

December 2022

  • Top: Dalia Stasevska , Entertainment industry workers protest against arts funding cuts, Anu Komsi , London sinfonietta/ Jack Sheen at South Banks Clements, Bottom: The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart Glyndebourne Tour 2022, ANNA THORSVOdOTTIR, Britten Sinfonia, Allan Clayton (Peter Grimes) in Peter Grimes

    2022 in Culture
    Tears, cheers and whirlytubes: our critics pick their classical highlights of 2022

    While there’s no doubt about the year’s villain, before November’s funding cuts there were plenty of heroes to celebrate. We look back on a year that saw many musical highs and an all-time low
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