Voices cut through the darkness, chanting in prayer. A candle flickers centre-stage. These are potent symbols of the fundamentalism and fire that drive Handel’s Jephtha and of the battle between…
Author: Claire Seymour
Annabel Arden’s L’elisir d’amore brings autumn sunshine to Glyndebourne
The first day of what would have been Glyndebourne’s 2023 Autumn Tour, had not Arts Council England swung its financial axe, was as sunny and bright as the score which…
Winners announced for 2023 International Opera Awards
The world of opera came together in Warsaw tonight [9 November 2023] for a star-studded ceremony at Teatr Wielki, Polish National Opera, Warsaw at which the winners of the 2023 International Opera Awards were…
Perfection, of a Kind: Britten vs. Auden – City of London Sinfonia at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
‘I’ve seen & am seeing Auden a lot, & our immediate future is locked with his, it seems.’ So wrote Benjamin Britten to his sister, Barbara, on 3 September 1939.[1]…
Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers’ Competition 2023 – Finalists Chosen
Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers’ Competition 2023 – Finalists ChosenPublic Final: Saturday 25 November 2023, 6pmLeonard Wolfson Auditorium, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford, OX2 6UD After an exciting first round…
Gallery of Memories: Mary Bevan & Anna Tilbrook at the Oxford International Song Festival
There was a veritable feast of new music at this year’s Oxford International Song Festival, much of it commissioned by the Festival itself. Gallery of Memories, a song cycle by…
The Glass Eye: an important and impressive new song cycle at the Oxford International Song Festival
Introducing Alex Ho’s new song cycle, The Glass Eye, before this evening recital at the Oxford International Song Festival, Artistic Director Sholto Kynoch noted that this was the most substantial…
Filiations – Les compositrices de la Conservatoire de Paris: Oxford International Song Festival
In a review in Le Temps in 1937, Florent Schmitt commented, ‘It was, if I may say, the great feminine week: at the Concerts Lamoureux the Concerto of Mlle Jeanne…
Garsington Opera: 2024 Season Announcement
Garsington Opera is delighted to announce full details of the five operas in the 2024 Season (29 May – 31 July 2024). Opening the Festival, The English Concert under Baroque…
Forget This Night: a new disc by Katharine Dain and Sam Armstrong
Lili Boulanger’s life and composing career were tragically all too brief. Born in 1893, into an eminent musical family, she was both a prodigy and a pioneer, becoming the first…