Rising temperatures in Covent Garden

The Royal Opera season usually goes out with a bang. In contrast with the House’s often understated opening in September (sometimes simply a concert performance of a not very well known opera), in June and July they put on two or three star-filled blockbusters to gather crowds, appeal to tourists and fill piazzas and cinemas all over the world with screenings suitably sponsored by BP. This year it’s the turn of Tosca with Gheorghiu, Giordano and Terfel, Barbiere di Siviglia with Spagnoli, Di Donato, Florez, Corbelli and Furlanetto and Traviata with Fleming, Calleja and Hampson. Match that! To complement this haute-couture display, the Royal Opera has put on a successful new production of Lulu (reviewed by Mundoclasico.com) and a prêt-a-porter revival of Mario Martone’s Un ballo in maschera with Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas as the main…