With its screams, sex, bells and bloodshed Puccini’s opera was initially derided as a noisy disaster. Ahead of Glyndebourne’s first ever production, we look the ‘shabby little shocker’ that’s become one of opera’s most bankable masterpiecesGustav Mahler hated it. Its publisher was convinced it would be a commercial disaster. Critics complained it was mostly just “noise” and predicted that it would quickly be forgotten. But more than 125 years since Tosca’s premiere in January 1900, Giacomo Pucci

Turner Contemporary, MargateThe young Dominican painter’s dizzyingly beautiful jungle scenes will transport you to the tropics – and remind you of the wonders of the natural world Deep in the Dominican rainforest, high up on a mountain, miles from anywhere, Hulda Guzmán stares at an endless expanse of jungle. From her modernist wooden studio, built by her architect father Eddie, she looks out into the vast greenness of her world, the deep blues of the ocean in the distance, the warm oranges and

Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Luisi/Lindstrom/Delavan /Johansson(Delos)Captured live in concert performances, Fabio Luisi’s clear-sighted command and strong orchestral playing make this Wagner set frequently impressive, with Mark Delavan an authorative Wotan Concert performances of opera can provide ideal conditions for live recordings. This ambitious release of Wagner’s Ring Cycle on 13 CDs, captured in 2024 with the Dallas Symphony under music director Fabio Luisi, is a fine example.The Italian ma

Microsoft; PC, Xbox Series X/S (PS5 due later) Dreamy vistas of the country’s natural beauties are stunningly delivered – but won’t distract from thrilling high-end driving adventuresThe Forza Horizon games have always been about drama. Not just the tension and excitement of racing, but also the sensory impact of the natural environment – the sun rising over a dense city, rain clouds hovering above a valley floor. There are moments in this game – perhaps after emerging from a dense forest, or co

The open world driving sim has roared through locations from Colorado to Australia, its authentic feel resting on exhaustive research. But, as the team explain, this was the toughest challenge yetSince the arrival of the original Forza Horizon in 2012, a game that revolutionised open world driving sims by setting players loose in a virtual Colorado, British developer Playground Games has promised authenticity with its settings. For each instalment, design teams are sent out on location to take t

Roman Mars’s pod 99% Invisible is a worldwide hit. Now he has teamed up with the BBC for new series A History of the United States in 100 Objects, an insight into the secret significance of everyday stuffIn 2010, the audio producer Roman Mars launched 99% Invisible, a podcast about the hidden designs and inventions most of us overlook. At the time, he didn’t have high hopes for it. Not only was the subject matter wilfully niche – early topics included building acoustics and the ergonomics of the

The HBCU Radio Preservation Project celebrates stations that were an outgrowth of the civil rights movement, to help people understand their importanceAfter Shaw University’s WSHA radio station went on air in 1968, several other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) followed the North Carolina school’s lead, launching a wave of their own.For decades, the students who worked on these channels used them to inform listeners about happenings on campus, while also playing musical selec

He is one of the world’s best actors – but can still go to Starbucks without anyone recognising him. He discusses cancer, remission, happiness, fame and video nastiesSam Neill, 76, is speaking to me via Zoom from Vancouver, where he is filming Untamed, a new Netflix series. We’re here, though, to discuss the new season of The Twelve, a pacy Australian courtroom drama in which Neill plays barrister Brett Colby SC. It’s a heightened murder mystery and subtle social commentary, and “the second seri