Page 16 - Alex Woolf News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

From left: Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Lawrence Power Credit: Kayla Wren/Jack Liebeck/Avalon.Red In a disastrous year for the arts which saw venues close and many lose their livelihoods overnight, some individuals and organisations showed bravery, initiative and good old blitz spirit to try to keep the party going. Here are seven who brightened up 2020. Pop: Sophie Ellis-Bextor By hanging a glitterball and tinsel curtain in the open plan kitchen of her home in west London, underemployed pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor became a beacon of national joy. Every Friday through the dark...

A delicious souffle of a production: English Touring Opera's Così fan tutte Credit: Richard Hubert Smith There seemed to be so much to look forward to in 2020. Elektra with Nina Stemme and Jenufa with Asmik Grigorian and Karita Mattila at Covent Garden; Barrie Kosky’s production of Dialogues des Carmelites at Glyndebourne; the centenary of the Salzburg Festival; an eco-friendly staging of Così fan tutte by Opera North pioneering the use of entirely recycled sets and costumes. And things duly got off to a pretty good start. The phenomenal Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen dazzled us in the R...