Anyone who saw Die Walküre at Covent Garden last month cannot fail to have been struck by Hunding's first lines, delivered with one hand gripping his wife's neck and the other rummaging furiously in his trouser pocket. With those simple, economical gestures, Sir John Tomlinson explained everything that followed.
There's another chance to marvel at his acting skills - not to mention his singing - when he gives a staged recital at the National Gallery this Friday, 16 November, at 6.30pm. In the persona of Michelangelo, as the Victorians conceived him, he will sing the the artist-poet's own words as set by Wolf, Britten and Shostakovich.
Sir John's recitals are few and far between, but always memorable, so this is an opportunity not to be missed. Best of all, tickets are just £10.
