The Dutch soprano Channa Malkin explores aspects of motherhood and maternal love in This is not a lullaby, an album of songs by Mieczysław Weinberg, Sir John Tavener and her…
Les Talens Lyriques present an inspiring premiere recording of Lully’s Ballet royal de la Naissance de Vénus
In Le Maître a danser, a dance manual which was published in Paris in 1725, Pierre Rameau wrote of the saltatory prowess of the French King, Louis XIV (1643-1715) and…
Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro 2021
Moïse et Pharaon, ou Le passage de la mer rouge is Rossini’s adaptation of his Neapolitan Mosè in Egitto for the Paris Opéra. This revision may be the epitome of…
I Fagiolini: Au naturel
I Fagiolini like a ‘hook’, and they’re expert at devising one. On this occasion it was a painting, or, rather, a series of paintings – The Four Seasons by Pieter…
Heartfelt: truth and directness from Roxanna Panufnik
This Signum Classics recording of a selection of Roxanna Panufnik’s chamber music, for varied vocal and instrumental forces, is titled Heartfelt – and it is indeed a generous programme, sincerely…
British Youth Opera: a superb cast shine in Rossini’s L’occasione fa il ladro
Rossini’s libretti often require one to leave logic at the theatre entrance and embrace the absurd – stock buffa characters, stolen and switched identities, arranged marriages, double nuptials, an inevitable…
The 20th Oxford Lieder Festival, 8-23 October 2021: Nature’s Songbook
Oxford Lieder, the UK’s biggest festival of song, marks its 20th year with its most ambitious programme to date, featuring more than 100 events, both in-person and live-streamed. · 20 new works…
Irish National Opera 2021-22: an explosion of opera
Irish National Opera’s biggest-ever seasonWednesday 7 July 2021 to Saturday 25 June 202258 performances in 26 spaces at 20 different locations, 9 new productions,6 operas by Irish composers, including 4…
Academy of Ancient Music to launch new season with Haydn’s The Creation
The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) opens its first season under new Music Director Laurence Cummings on Tuesday 28 September, with a performance co-produced by the Barbican. In an evening celebrating new beginnings, Cummings…
A trio of operas by Gustav Holst at the 2021 Leeds Opera Festival
Gustav Holst completed nine operas. They span his compositional career. None were commissioned; several were not performed in his lifetime; most did not meet with critical acclaim. Few would consider…