Music critic, editor, programme note writer. Happy to be ambushed by cake. Best when caffeinated. https://canzonetta.substack.com/https://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mvfhlwij5c2v“Asmik Grigorian... invests the soprano part with every bit of drama and intensity that she wrings out of her operatic roles” Review of the Cleveland Orchestra in Verdi's Requiem for Gramophone https://www.gramophone.co.uk/reviews/verdi-requiem-welser-m-st13 Sep 2026 11:12 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvfhlwij5c2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mva6txkbys2nSpinning around: Kasper Holten's Don Giovanni is back to open the new Royal Opera season https://bachtrack.com/review-don-giovanni-holten-bintner-tagliavini-royal-opera-london-september-202611 Sep 2026 08:52 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mva6txkbys2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3muzzvrwcos2n“I could have danced all night…” Well, Nadine Sierra could have sung all night… and very nearly did. EIGHT encores to open the @wigmore-hall.org.uk season in spectacular fashion!!08 Sep 2026 22:07 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzzvrwcos2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3muyvgvojj22nThis evening @wigmore-hall.org.uk! [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 Sep 2026 11:15 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3muyvgvojj22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3muylpzuf2k2n“I had hoped I wouldn't fall in love with another orchestra, but in fact I did.” It's easy to hear why. Simon Rattle and the Freiburg Baroque play Schumann at the Proms: https://bachtrack.com/review-rattle-faust-schumann-freiburg-baroque-bbc-proms-london-september-202608 Sep 2026 08:21 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3muylpzuf2k2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mutfmgp26k2n“Martha Argerich plays Beethoven”: four words guaranteed to fill the Royal Albert Hall. (Her Ravel encore with Lahav Shani was pretty special too). Review 👇 https://bachtrack.com/review-argerich-shani-beethoven-brahms-munich-philharmonic-bbc-proms-september-202606 Sep 2026 06:48 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mutfmgp26k2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3muoksmmujk2pEt tu, Brute? A pocket-sized Giulio Cesare graces London’s East End #Grimeborn https://bachtrack.com/review-handel-giulio-cesare-egitto-new-trinity-baroque-grimeborn-london-september-202604 Sep 2026 08:38 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3muoksmmujk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mumffzmnoc2pAnother in the occasional series, ‘Musicians who've forgotten their instruments...’03 Sep 2026 11:56 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mumffzmnoc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mujgpvpbw22eThis is always fun to put together... my pick of rising stars to watch out for on the opera and classical scene in the new season! https://bachtrack.com/feature-rising-stars-ten-to-watch-in-2026-27-september-202602 Sep 2026 07:42 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mujgpvpbw22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3muemw24tj22cMuch espresso required after a deep immersion into Nielsen’s maverick, impetuous Clarinet Concerto, my latest Gramophone Collection assignment. Physical CDs represent the tip of the digital iceberg…!31 Aug 2026 09:49 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3muemw24tj22chttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mu7fo37ix22rThe most dramatically engaging Aida staging I’ve ever witnessed (I know, six of the productions I've seen have been in London, so that sets a low bar, but still...) My review of Noa Naamat's powerful Aida, opening the Finnish National Opera season 👇 https://bachtrack.com/review-aida-naamat-ettinger-zanettin-sturua-rukavina-finnish-national-opera-helsinki-august-202629 Aug 2026 07:56 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu7fo37ix22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mu5nln43nc2rTonight’s entertainment… and the view from the back of the opera house! 🇫🇮28 Aug 2026 15:12 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5nln43nc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mu2ftyadc222“Sumptuous, hedonistic, highly calorific”: Yannick's back at the Proms, this time bringing his Met Orchestra and Elza van den Heever as a knockout Salome. https://bachtrack.com/review-nezet-seguin-van-den-heever-strauss-metropolitan-opera-orchestra-bbc-proms-london-august-202627 Aug 2026 08:16 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu2ftyadc222https://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mtmbnxfjvs2aInteresting thoughts on the Salzburg Festival post Markus Hinterhäuser @nytimes.com https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/arts/music/salzburg-festival-markus-hinterhauser.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7FA.HMx_.QstvpJJAtKIz&smid=tw-share21 Aug 2026 17:24 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtmbnxfjvs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mt6zsxscd22zRumble! My Prom of the year (thus far...) The @londonsymphony.bsky.social shake the soul in Berlioz's Requiem: https://bachtrack.com/review-pappano-berlioz-requiem-henric-london-symphony-bbc-proms-august-202616 Aug 2026 10:59 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6zsxscd22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mt4zxyujmc2zCan seriously recommend Alexandra Richter's review of the AI Ring cycle at Bayreuth (now translated into EN): “404 Regie not found”: https://bachtrack.com/kritik-wagner-das-rheingold-lobbe-thielemann-volle-kissjudit-vogt-bayreuther-festspiele-august-2026 “What remains is an audience that is disappointed and rightly angry at being taken for fools.”15 Aug 2026 15:56 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt4zxyujmc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msxc4vcybc2zThe final volume of bassoon concertos in Naïve's Vivaldi Edition has landed... and I've reviewed it for Gramophone 🥳 https://www.gramophone.co.uk/reviews/vivaldi-concerti-per-fagotto-vi-sergio-azzolini13 Aug 2026 09:06 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msxc4vcybc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msvnfzewb223“They lock you in, you know.” Oh this is a fun piece: The Guardian's Flora Willson made her debut visit to the Bayreuth Festival... https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/10/wagner-marathon-bayreuth-ring-cycle-anniversary12 Aug 2026 17:23 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvnfzewb223https://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msusww3h6223The LA Phil took a wild ride into Thomas Adès' Inferno 🔥, but the Beethoven 6... 🥱 https://bachtrack.com/review-dudamel-ades-beethoven-los-angeles-bbc-proms-august-202612 Aug 2026 09:29 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msusww3h6223https://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msqwtt3q5k2zA postcard from Salzburg: reviews (Carmen, Ariadne, Saint François) and views from this year's festival https://canzonetta.substack.com/p/a-postcard-from-the-salzburg-festival10 Aug 2026 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msqwtt3q5k2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msqitr7iws2zAriadne auf Mars, courtesy of Ersan Mondtag at the Salzburg Festival 🪐 🤔 https://www.opera-now.com/content/reviews/strauss-ariadne-auf-naxos-at-salzburg-festival-live-review10 Aug 2026 16:18 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msqitr7iws2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msqirinrzc2zRitualistic immersion into Messiaen: my review of Saint François d'Assise at the Salzburg Festival: https://www.opera-now.com/content/reviews/messiaen-saint-francois-d-assise-at-salzburg-festival-live-review10 Aug 2026 16:16 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msqirinrzc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msq5kgnnek2zCarmen get it: the most hotly anticipated production at this year’s Salzburg Festival, reviewed for Opera Now: https://www.opera-now.com/content/reviews/bizet-carmen-at-salzburg-festival-live-review10 Aug 2026 12:56 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msq5kgnnek2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msnjg7rifc24Favourite lunchtime view in Salzburg09 Aug 2026 11:50 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msnjg7rifc24https://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mslpcbkbck2eThree years ago, Asmik Grigorian told me that if she was ever going to sing Carmen, it should be sooner rather than later. Tonight, at the Salzburg Festival…08 Aug 2026 18:30 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mslpcbkbck2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msguwhjnfs2wOpening night of the (expanded) revival of Christof Loy’s Così fan tutte staging at the Salzburg Festival06 Aug 2026 20:27 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msguwhjnfs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3msdxj3v4qs2zPerspectives of belief: ahead of his new production of Parsifal for The Royal Opera, my Opera Now interview with director Evgeny Titov https://www.opera-now.com/content/features/perspectives-of-belief-evgeny-titov05 Aug 2026 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3msdxj3v4qs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/larkingrumple.bsky.social/post/3mscuq2qctk2lA swift leaving the nest05 Aug 2026 06:13 +0000at://did:plc:bjseojeay6sp5merb2dlanku/app.bsky.feed.post/3mscuq2qctk2l