Musical stories from Tom Guthrie and Barokksolistene at Middle Temple Hall

In the 1980s, ‘authenticity’ was a buzzword in music research and performance; by the 1990s it was considered bothersome; nowadays it’s pretty much banished – a bygone concept of how…

Handel: a debut solo album from countertenor Barnaby Smith

In August 2021, as part of VOCES8’s Live From London Summer 2021 Festival, countertenor Barnaby Smith, soprano Mary Bevan and the The Illyria Consort (led by violinist Bojan Čičić) presented…

The Samling Institute 25th Anniversary Showcase at Wigmore Hall

Since its foundation in 1996, The Samling Institute for Young Artists has supported the careers of some 350 singers and musicians.  Its 25th birthday was celebrated at Wigmore Hall by…

Dramas of darkness and light: a stunning Bluebeard and sunny Haydn from the LPO and Gardner

In 1911, 30-year-old Béla Bartók began work on an instructive edition of seventeen of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas.  Between February and September that year, he also composed his first and only…

‘Christmas with Jonas Kaufmann’ at the Royal Albert Hall

Widely acknowledged as the world’s leading tenor, the singer shares his personal favourite songs of the festive season in Christmas with Jonas Kaufmann at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday…

Sharp slaps and pungent pyrotechnics: Glyndebourne’s Don Pasquale at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

There was pungent, post-explosion smoke in the Marlowe Theatre during the performance of Glyndebourne’s touring production of Don Pasquale, and it wasn’t all the result of the pyrotechnics with which…

A rake revived: Glyndebourne Tour at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

John Cox and David Hockney’s Glyndebourne production of The Rake’s Progress has proved one of the Festival’s most enduring successes, revived frequently in the Sussex theatre and in international houses…

Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers’ Competition – finalists announced

Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers’ Competition 2021 – Finalists ChosenPublic Final: Sunday 28 November 2021 6pm, Holywell Music Room, Holywell Street, Oxford OX1 3SD After an exciting first round of the fifth…

Opera Holland Park releases a new online production of William Walton’s The Bear

“If there’s going to be equality between the sexes, then let us have it!” An angry creditor, a reclusive widow, a loyal servant and a pair of pistols are the…

A compelling Robert Devereux from Chelsea Opera Group at Cadogan Hall

In June 2019, the Australian soprano Helena Dix stepped into the royal shoes of Elizabeth I, replacing soprano Ina Schlingensiepen at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe in the third and final…