Simon Thomas

London reviewer

Simon has been writing about opera and theatre for many years and was formerly Classical Music Editor at MusicOMH and Opera Editor for Whatsonstage.com. He has written for Exeunt magazine and Plays International and Europe magazine. Simon is now based in Bristol.

Reviews

The Exterminating Angel

Thomas Adès, libretto by Tom Cairns

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 5 June 2020

Lulu

Alban Berg

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 4 June 2020

John Relyea as Mephistopheles, Marcello Giordani as Faust

La Damnation de Faust

Hector Berlioz

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 25 May 2020

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 22 May 2020

Joan Sutherland as Lucia, Alfredo Kraus as Edgardo

Lucia di Lammermoor

Gaetano Donizetti

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 16 May 2020

Ariadne auf Naxos

Richard Strauss, libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 13 May 2020

Simon Keenlyside as Prospero, Isabel Leonard as Miranda

The Tempest

Thomas Adès, libretto by Meredith Oakes

Met Opera on Demand

Metropolitan Opera, New York

From 14 May 2020

Toby Spence as Essex, Susan Bullock as Queen Elizabeth

Gloriana

Benjamin Britten, libretto by William Plomer

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

24 April–24 May 2020

Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts as The Circus Master

The Bartered Bride

Bedřich Smetana

Garsington Opera

Wormsley Estate

29 November 2019–29 May 2020

Death in Venice

Benjamin Britten

The Royal Opera

Royal Opera House

21 November–6 December 2019

Features

Maria Callas as Tosca on the cover of the CD recording

Opera Nights to Dream About

16 May 2020

Simon Thomas fantasises about great nights at the opera.

Vinyl record cover of Otello recording with Domingo from the Zeffirelli film

A Great Night Out: a top night at the opera

26 April 2020

Simon Thomas picks his highlights from nearly half a century of opera-going.

Michael Gambon in the 1980 National Theatre production of The Life of Galileo

A Great Night Out: my top theatre pick of the last 50 years

7 April 2020

Simon Thomas remembers some of the greats he has seen in half a century of theatre-going, but Gambon comes out tops.

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