Superb performance of Elgar’s epic oratorio Caractacus at the The
Three Choirs Festival in Worcester Cathedral.
Author: Anne Ozorio
Caractacus,Three Choirs Festival, Worcester
La Wally, Opera Holland Park, London
Alfredo Catalani’s La Wally is known for its arias, but the full opera is rarely performed. Expectations were high for this production at Opera Holland Park, London.
Havergal Brian’s “Gothic” Symphony
The BBC Proms has given Havergal Brian’s Symphony no. 1 the best and most
extensive exposure the composer has ever enjoyed.
Seven Angels, London
Luke Bedford’s first opera, Seven Angels, had its London premiere at the Linbury Studio Theatre, London.
Rinaldo at Glyndebourne
Handel’s Rinaldo at the Glyndebourne Festival is a triumph in musical terms. Don’t miss it when it appears at the BBC Proms this summer in concert performance, because some of the singing is very good indeed.
Luca Pisaroni sings Handel at Glyndebourne
Luca Pisaroni is one of one the more exciting young bass-baritones of his
generation. In July 2011, he sings Argante in the first ever Handel Rinaldo at
the Glyndebourne Festival.
Sensitive, intelligent Madama Butterfly, Royal Opera
This Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House, London, brings out
the depth and intelligence of the human story Puccini might be trying to tell
us, beneath the surface gloss.
Madama Butterfly by Caurier and Leiser
Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser’s Madama Butterfly is such a classic that it is being filmed for the second time at the Royal Opera House, London.
Jeremy White and the British character singer tradition
Divas make headlines, but character singers are fundamental to the British opera tradition. “Character singing,” says Jeremy White, one of the stalwarts of the Royal Opera House, “is much more than just voice.”
“Opera is like a tree” — ZhengZhong Zhou
In Gounod’s Faust at the Royal Opera House in October 2011,
Zhengzhong Zhou is alternating with Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the part of
Valentin. Alternating, not covering or substituting. Since Zhou is very young,
it’s quite a challenge.