In 1822, the 24-year-old Gaetano Donizetti had his first major success when his opera Zoraida di Granata was premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. The characteristically duplicitous efforts of…
Category: Commentary
La ciociara at Wexford Festival Opera: in conversation with conductor Francesco Cilluffo
Women & War is the theme uniting the works being performed at the 72nd Wexford Festival Opera next month. The three main productions in the Irish National Opera House each…
Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald: a new recording on Resonus Classics
In March 1903, The Metropolitan Opera presented a double bill of Verdi’s II trovatore and Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald (The Forest). The latter was the first opera written by a…
In conversation with the Brazilian baritone, Vitor Bispo
When I attended Royal Academy Opera’s Figaro back in March, Vitor Bispo’s authoritative Count Almaviva caught my ear and eye. Subsequently, it was not surprising to learn that the Brazilian…
Elgan Llŷr Thomas launches his debut disc, Unveiled, at Wigmore Hall
The press release for Unveiled, Welsh-born tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas’s debut disc, suggests that ‘as a gay musician and composer, [Thomas] became increasingly frustrated by opera’s traditional focus on heterosexual…
In conversation with Liberata Collective: Handel’s Orlando at the Buxton International Opera Festival
“In opera, the most profound music, the most well-chosen words, will not contribute to the drama if the action is not coherent … every detail of the visual aspects of…
The Three Choirs Festival presents Vaughan Williams’ The Pilgrim’s Progress: in conversation with Charlotte Corderoy
As an inscription to his 1925 oratorio Sancta Civitas, Ralph Vaughan Williams drew on the words of Plato: ‘A man of sense will not insist that things are not exactly…
Opera Rara announces 2023/24 season, including a major multi-year project to perform and record almost 200 rarely heard Donizetti songs
Opera Rara continues the rich vein of operatic archaeology, which has been its calling card for over half a century, with performances, studio recordings and exhibitions in a 2023/24 season…
Florian Störtz announced as winner of International Handel Singing Competition
On Thursday 16th March 2023, baritone Florian Störtz was announced as the winner of the International Handel Singing Competition following the final presented by internationally acclaimed soprano Danielle de Niese, which took place at London’s St George’s Church, Hanover Square.…
The Glass Eye: Hugh Cutting sings a new song cycle by Alex Ho at the Oxford International Song Festival
The theme of this year’s Oxford International Song Festival (previously known as Oxford Lieder) is Art:Song – Images/Words/Music. The performances, exhibitions and events will bring the visual arts, poetry and…