The capital’s music conservatoires frequently present not only some of the best opera in London, but also some of the most interesting, and unusual, as the postgraduate students begin to build their careers by venturing across diverse operatic ground.
Year: 2018
Old Bones: Iestyn Davies and members of the Aurora Orchestra ‘unwrap’ Time at Kings Place
In this contribution to Kings Place’s 2018 Time Unwrapped series, ‘co-curators’ composer Nico Muhly and countertenor Iestyn Davies explored the relationship between time past and time present, and between stillness and motion.
Cinderella goes to the panto: WNO in Southampton
Once upon a time, Rossini’s La Cenerentola was the Cinderella among his operatic oeuvre.
It’s a Wonderful Life in San Francisco
It was 1946 when George Bailey of Bedford Falls, NY nearly sold himself to the devil for $20,000. It is 2018 in San Francisco where an annual income of ten times that amount raises you slightly above poverty level, and you’ve paid $310 for your orchestra seat to Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
Des Moines: Glory, Glory Hallelujah
A minor miracle occurred as Des Moines Metro Opera converted a large hall on a Reserve Army Base to a wholly successful theatrical venue, and delivered a stunning rendition of Tom Cipullo’s compelling military-themed one act opera, Glory Denied.
In her beginning is her end: Welsh National Opera’s La traviata in Southampton
David McVicar’s La traviata for Welsh National Opera – first seen at Scottish Opera in 2008 and adopted by WNO in 2009 – wears its heavy-black mourning garb stylishly.
Hubert Parry – Father of Modern English Song – English Lyrics III
SOMM Recordings Hubert Parry Twelve Sets of English Lyrics vol III with Sarah Fox, Roderick Williams and Andrew West, brings to a conclusion what has been a landmark series, demonstrating how Parry established English Song as a distinct art form, different from German Lieder and from French MÈlodie, and indeed from other Victorian song.
Ravel’s Magical Glimpses into the World of Children
This is the fifth CD in a series devoted to Ravel’s orchestral works.
About an enfant: Ravel’s Opera about Childhood and Debussy’s Prodigal Son
This recording of Ravel’s second (and last) one-act opera was made during a concert, and -somewhat daringly – with rather close microphone placement. As it turns out, everything went smoothly.
Unknown, Remembered: in conversation with Shiva Feshareki
It sounds like a question from a BBC Radio 4 quiz show: what links Handel’s cantata for solo contralto, La Lucrezia, Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, and the post-punk band Joy Division?