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theartsdesk.com - a daily serving of incisive, well-informed arts coverage. Enjoy criticism at its best.

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'A glorious reassertion of why this opera speaks to our times' ★★★★ ARIODANTE @theroyalopera.bsky.social - #EmilyDAngelo shines as the impetuous, besotted #Ariodante
in this luminous account of jealousy and betrayal - review @hallibee1.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/opera/arioda...
December 10, 2025 at 11:15 AM
★★★★★ April Varner's @aprilvarnermusic.bsky.social WINTER SONGS VOL. 2 is a Christmas album with fun and freshness, with tasty harmonies from #TheSunhouseSingers - review @seb-scotney.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/ap...
December 10, 2025 at 10:09 AM
★★★★ FOLKTALES - Call of the wild: inspiring documentary follows lucky teens at a Norwegian folk school - review by Justine Elias www.theartsdesk.com/film/folktal...
December 9, 2025 at 9:43 AM
★★★★ L'AMOUR DES TROIS ORANGES @rncmlive.bsky.social Manchester - Playing from strength in a game where the Royal Northern has all the cards, in a wacky and glorious romp, says @robertbealemcr.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/opera/lamour...
December 8, 2025 at 8:06 PM
★★★★★ Irresistible invitation to a very Mackem CHRISTMAS from #TheFutureheads - Strange for something so individual to sound so familiar - but they've done it, says @joemuggs.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/ir...
December 8, 2025 at 7:23 PM
★★★★ JUDY COLLINS @judycollins.bsky.social @unionchapeluk.bsky.social - Tempus fugit: a reminder of when hope and music rhymed, and a beautiful appraisal of a musical life, and a musical movement, by Liz Thomson www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/ju...
December 2, 2025 at 11:32 AM
'The feelgood vibe nourishes a sensibility that reaches beyond time and space' ★★★★ Dreadzone @dreadzone.bsky.social vs The Orb @theorblive.bsky.social #ElectricBristol - Mark Kidel enjoys feelgood party music, with dancing to feed the spirit and the soul www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/dr...
December 2, 2025 at 11:07 AM
★★★★ #EnsembleMi #Noisenight 231 #Fabric - Bringing #Messiaen to an underground superclub, Ensemble Mi delivered an enthrallingly authoritative account - review @hallibee1.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...
December 2, 2025 at 10:40 AM
★★★★ #FazilSay #SanttuMathiasRouvali @southbankcentre.bsky.social - In their final concert of 80th ann season, @philharmonialondon.bsky.social swept us into the great outdoors, a new eco-concerto joining much-loved musical landscapes, says @boydtonkin.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...
December 1, 2025 at 2:46 PM
★★★★ MY FAIR LADY #TheMillatSonning - Sensational songs rescue dodgy book, as the classic musical, staged in intimate setting, loses little, says @garynaylor85.bsky.social
www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/my-f...
December 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
'Songs and spirit and too much blather' @thelastdinnerparty.bsky.social #TheHallsWolverhampton - Pop-rockers on fine musical form but undermined by stop-start dynamics, says Thomas H Green www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/la...
November 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
★★★★ A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM #SamWanamakerTheatre @globetheatrelive.bsky.social - This is Athens as a violent dictatorship, in a midwinter production that highlights the play's sinister undertones - review @hallibee1.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/mids...
November 30, 2025 at 7:19 PM
★★★★★ TURNER AND CONSTABLE - RIVALS AND ORIGINALS @tate.bsky.social Britain - The sky’s the thing in this show of a lifetime - 'You’re in for a real treat', says Sarah Kent www.theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/...
November 30, 2025 at 11:33 AM
THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY #Disney Debut - #TheBeatles for sale (again), as this vintage documentary series is boosted by sound and vision upgrades - review by Adam Sweeting www.theartsdesk.com/tv/beatles-a...
November 29, 2025 at 11:58 AM
★★★★ #JamesAtkinson #ChristopherGlynn / The Longest Night #RyedaleFestival #WinterWeekend - November words and music, in a splendid if in some ways provisional inauguration - review by Clare Stevens www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...
November 29, 2025 at 11:21 AM
★★★★ #DhaferYoussef SHIRAZ - Textural variety and sonic clarity captivate from first note, blending oud artistry with chamber jazz elegance to exquisite effect - 'a thing of great beauty', says Peter Quinn www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/dh...
November 29, 2025 at 9:25 AM
★★★★ #ManchesterCollective #MarianConsort #StollerHall @rncmlive.bsky.social - Embracing winter with a bit of fun: four voices and four strings capture Hibernian experience from #Lassus to the recent past - review @robertbealemcr.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...
November 28, 2025 at 9:49 PM
★★★★ THE HIVES @thehives.com #O2AcademyGlasgow - The Hives were on typically brash, sweaty form, and the old tricks were still going down a treat, says Jonathan Geddes www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/hi...
November 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
★★★★ THE BEAST IN ME @netflix.com - Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys star in addictively twisty mystery of power, corruption and lies on Long Island - review by Adam Sweeting www.theartsdesk.com/tv/beast-me-...
November 26, 2025 at 9:42 AM
'Music is like the air we breathe, like oxygen' RIP JIMMY CLIFF #JimmyCliff - Remembering one of #reggae's breakout stars, in a full 2012 Q&A from Thomas H Green www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/th...
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 AM
THE ROLLING STONES - BLACK & BLUE turns 50 with a new reissue - one of their best-sounding classic LPs comes with live sets, rare film and dodgy studio jams, says @timcumming.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/ro...
November 12, 2025 at 11:09 AM
#Britten Weekend 2025, #Snape and #Aldeburgh - White Rose, red poppy: superbly sequenced memorials balancing anger and reflection - @davidnice.bsky.social appreciates two of the finest small-scale concerts he's heard this year, on the theme of remembrance www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...
November 12, 2025 at 10:50 AM
#RizAhmed and #LilyJames soulfully connect in sly, lean corporate whistleblowing thriller RELAY - director #DavidMackenzie and cast keep the conceit’s heart beating, says Nick Hasted www.theartsdesk.com/film/relay-r...
November 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
FATHERLAND #HampsteadTheatre - #NancyFarino's debut is a meditation on responsibility and emotional heritage - it's psychologically convincing, but lacking fullness, says @sierz.bsky.social theartsdesk.com/theatre/fath...
November 11, 2025 at 5:57 PM
★★★★ #PeterMoore #BBCPhilharmonic #ElenaSchwarz @bridgewaterhall.bsky.social - Rich rewards in heavyweight works, with a look back to the Covid experience in #DaniHoward’s approachable and attractive #Trombone Concerto - review @robertbealemcr.bsky.social theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...
November 11, 2025 at 5:51 PM