Metastasio must have topped the charts in Padua in the early 1770s. Performances of settings of his libretto Betulia Liberata seem to have abounded, with the Bohemian Josef Mysliveček’s account,…
Month: December 2020
Grange Park Opera’s Wasfi Kani Awarded CBE
Wasfi Kani, CEO / Founder of Grange Park Opera, Surrey, has been awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2021 New Year Honours list,…
The 2020 Kathleen Ferrier Award Final
Regular Opera Today readers will know that the annual Kathleen Ferrier Award Final is a keenly anticipated event in my musical year. This year the Competition’s progress, inevitably, was somewhat…
The Royal Opera House Christmas Concert
Lockdowns and homeworking have made pyjamas the sartorial style of choice during 2020, so who would be surprised that director Dan Dooner decided to turn the Royal Opera House’s Christmas…
Messe de Minuit: I Fagiolini
Long, long ago,Oh! so long agoChrist was born in BethlehemTo heal the world’s woe. On Christmas Eve in 1940, while he was a prisoner of war at Laufen Castle in…
VOCES8 sing Winter Tales
VOCES8’s concerts often resemble a Christmas tin of Quality Street chocolates – there’s something for everyone, and ‘favourites’ abound. But, the ensemble’s range – and ambition – is impressive; during…
John Sheppard’s Media vita: The Choir of New College, Oxford
Modern scholarship directed at the English Reformation composer John Sheppard (c.1515-58) has come a long way since Peter le Huray’s research during the 1960s and David Wulstan’s pioneering performances a…
Christmas with Opera Holland Park premieres tonight at 7pm: A virtual festive concert with a twist
Presented by Petroc Trelawny, Christmas with Opera Holland Park is a new film featuring the company’s principals and chorus in the beautiful interior of Leighton House, Kensington, and outside Holland House in…
ETO to bring Shostakovich, Britten and Tippett productions to Marquee TV on New Year’s Day
On new year’s day, English Touring Opera will launch a series of broadcasts on Marquee TV showcasing productions of music by Britten, Tippett and Shostakovich. The four-part series will launch…
Remembering Anne Ozorio, 1951–2020
“I’m a large Asian-American, and I’ll wear something bright. You won’t miss me!” Anne’s response when I asked how I might recognise her when we first met, at an evening…