Putin’s poisoning does not make an opera: first review

Richard Morrison in the Times is the first to disparage last night’s world premiere of Grange Park’s new opera on The Life and Death of Alexander Litvinenko

He writes:

What’s alleged (but presented here as fact) is that Litvinenko was killed by having the deadly radioactive agent polonium-210 dropped into his tea by an old colleague, Andrei Lugovoy. That’s not the only murderous episode portrayed. Using masked actors spread through the auditorium, we also sit through a jolting re-enactment of the 2002 storming of the Dubrovka Theatre in Moscow by Chechen fighters (incited by Russian agents, the opera suggests).

He doesn’t like the music.

The whole project is undeniably worthy, but it would have worked far better as a spoken play or TV docudrama.

Full review here.

UPDATE: Other critics tells us they enjoyed the piece a lot more.