Donizetti’s melodramma eroico, L’esule di Roma, was the composer’s first major success with opera seria. It premiered in Naples at the Teatro S. Carlo on 1st January 1828, travelled to…
Month: May 2023
The Peasant Poet: the songs of Stephen Dodgson
There were many things that drew me to The Peasant Poet, a disc of songs by Stephen Dodgson (1924-2013) – which was released by SOMM Recordings last year, marking the…
Exaltation from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir fit for a King
Hymn of the Forests was the programme title for what was really a celebration of events earlier in the day down the road at Westminster Abbey. There was certainly much…
Total Immersion: Kaija Saariaho
‘Total Immersion’ is a good way of describing the music of the Finnish composer, Kaija Saariaho. The spectral sonorities that she creates by synthesising, manipulating and layering timbres, harmonies and…
Past Glories Revisited from the Choir of Christ Church, Oxford
This bumper box set from Decca encapsulates a golden age for the Choir of Christ Church, Oxford. Encased in their former jacket designs, the 19 discs showcase recordings made during…
Arminio at the Royal Opera House
Arminio was the first new opera in Handel’s 1736-37 season at Covent Garden, performed for the first time on 12th January 1737. After six performances it was withdrawn and remained…
Wexford Festival Opera 2023
Public Booking for 72nd Wexford Festival Opera opens on 10 th May 202370 events, 13 days from 24th October to 5th November 2023 General booking for Wexford Festival Opera opens…
Bampton Classical Opera 2023: 30th Anniversary Season
Bampton Classical Opera celebrates its 30th anniversary season with a busy calendar of events, the highlight being the UK première of Salieri’s ‘At the Venice Fair’ (La fiera di Venezia). The…
La Juive in Hannover: a medieval tale for the modern age
Three days before Lydia Steier’s 2019 production of Fromental Halévy’s La Juive received its first revival at the Staatsoper in Hannover, a British MP – a Minister for Immigration –…
A joyless Orfeo in Hannover
“On this happy and auspicious day which marks the end of the amorous sufferings of our demi-god, let us sing, shepherds, such sweet melodies, that worthy of Orpheus may be…