Bampton Classical Opera’s 2021 season develops a particular Bampton interest in the inexplicably neglected works by one of the most significant 18th century operatic masters, CW Gluck. In The Crown,…
Month: March 2021
Four Song Cycles by Saint-Saëns, Superbly Rendered by the Mellifluous Baritone Tassis Christoyannis
I raved about Greek-born baritone Tassis Christoyannis’s CD of songs by Félicien David and a follow-up 2-CD set of songs by Édouard Lalo . In American Record Guide, the late…
Dame Emma Kirkby and Friends: Abiding Love
Dame Emma Kirkby’s Live from London, Spring concert coincided with Mothering Sunday, and Kirkby and the ‘Friends’ whom she had invited to perform with her had curated an eclectic and…
Formidable performances from singer/director Nathalie Stutzmann in Contralto
We’re used to thinking of castrati as the operatic superstars of the 18th century. Even today one can readily bring to mind the names Farinelli and Senesino from among hundreds…
Schubert’s Women: a recital of poetry and song
Schubert’s Women, a programme of lieder and poetry,was born from a serendipitous collaborative pairing during a summer lieder master-course at the Franz-Schubert-Institut in Baden in 2017, which brought together the…
Paisiello’s 1785 Opera about “Trofonio’s Cave” Adds Welcome and Hilarious Complications to a Libretto Previously Set by Salieri
The opera world in Mozart’s day recycled successful plots and characters much as the worlds of film and Broadway theater do today. In October 1785, in Vienna, Antonio Salieri had…
Poulenc’s brilliantly observed La voix humaine given a stunning Wigmore performance
We’ve all been there: the heart-lurching response to the sound of the telephone, the bitter disappointment when a text message isn’t returned and the rapid descent into floor-pacing emotional disarray.…
Das Rosenband: Inga Kalna presents Strauss alongside some Latvian gems
It’s probably fair to say that Latvian composers don’t feature greatly on even the most avid classical music aficionado’s radar. When I reflect, only the names of Ēriks Ešenvalds and…
English National Opera and BBC Two announce the broadcast of Handel’s Messiah, captured exclusively for television this Easter
English National Opera (ENO) and BBC Two today announce that a specially-created concert of Handel’s Messiah will be recorded for exclusive broadcast on BBC Two this Easter. The hour-long performance of Handel’s…
Date announced for International Opera Awards 2021
2020 winners to be revealed in virtual event on Monday May 10Exclusive performances from stars of the opera worldEvent will raise funds for Artist Hardship Fund#OperaAwards2021 The International Opera Awards…