Tim Ashley
Tim Ashley is a Guardian classical and opera critic, though he's also keen on literature and philosophy so you might sometimes find him cross-referencing all three. His work has also appeared in Literary Review and Opera magazine and he is author of a biography of Richard Strauss
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
Insula Orch/Accentus/Equilbey review – Sky Burial’s reflections on life and death are beautiful and moving
This striking collaboration between French conductor Laurence Equilbey and British artist Mat Collishaw contemplated mortality with the music of Faure and Gounod, exquisite and austerely performed
Nutcracker/Iolanta review – Tchaikovsky double bill is what he would have wanted
A semi-staging of the composer’s final opera paired with the second act of his famous ballet reunited the two works that were written as a double bill. Vassily Petrenko shaped the music with refinement and Maria Motolygina was a deeply touching Iolanta
