Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 3,  23 & 30 – Brownridge

   in Opera Now (Oct, 2013)
What a strange release this is. John Eliot Gardiner makes a surprising appearance conducting Puccini with a blend of analysis and passion, allowing a sense of delicacy to pervade where others might encourage bombast. Graham Vick’s production is rather dull, generally a series of empty boxes with some attempt at directing the singers within with varying degrees of success. Adina Nitescu makes a cute butterball Manon, her voice attractive if slightly too small for the role – her pleasing vocal sheen makes one wonder whether Massenet’s Manon might have been a more suitable fit. Not much of an actress, she has no chemistry with her Des Grieux, Patrick Denniston, whose tenor …