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Elsewhere

Glyndebourne Open House - Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Brett Dean’s Hamlet

Glyndebourne has announced the next two opera titles in its virtual festival, Glyndebourne Open House - Handel’s Giulio Cesare (pictured) and Brett Dean’s Hamlet.

Guildhall School of Music & Drama announces free, digital Autumn events season

Guildhall School of Music & Drama today announces its Autumn Season of events, which will all be delivered digitally and free of charge.

Guildhall School creates new edition of Handel cantata

A new edition of Handel’s cantata Mi palpita il cor has been created by a group of students from Guildhall School’s Historical Performance department during lockdown.

Grange Park Opera announces 2021 season

It’s been a ‘challenging’ year, but what has kept us going is to focus on the future: 2021 at Grange Park Opera, Surrey, 10 June - 17 July.

After Silence: VOCES8

‘After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.’ Aldous Huxley’s words have inspired VOCES8’s new disc, After Silence, a ‘double album in four chapters’ which marks the ensemble’s 15th anniversary.

Beethoven's Songs and Folksongs: Bostridge and Pappano

A song-cycle is a narrative, a journey, not necessarily literal or linear, but one which carries performer and listener through time and across an emotional terrain. Through complement and contrast, poetry and music crystallise diverse sentiments and somehow cohere variability into an aesthetic unity.

Snape Maltings Concert Hall to reopen for live performances with audience from 7 August

Britten Pears Arts is thrilled to announce that it will host live music-making again in Snape Maltings Concert Hall from Friday 7 August, becoming one of the first venues in the UK to return to regular concerts for a live audience.

The Grange Festival presents Precipice, an outdoor promenade performance

On 21, 22 and 23 August 2020, The Grange Festival will present Precipice, an outdoor immersive promenade performance using the many varied natural stages offered by the buildings and gardens at The Grange in Hampshire. Created by the critically-acclaimed director Sinéad O’Neill and designed by Joanna Parker, the performance will last one hour and a small audience of up to 60 people will be guided through the sequence of events with spoken text by the actor, writer and director Tonderai Monyevu. There will be four performances each day.

Opera Holland Park returns for a series of outdoor performances this summer

Opera Holland Park (OHP) will present a series of outdoor performances this summer in the space where the theatre normally stands. The company held its first concert since lockdown this weekend. The performance sold out in less than 90...

Fidelio: semi-staged live performance at Garsington

Garsington Opera will be giving semi-staged performances of Beethoven’s Fidelio in the Opera Pavilion at Wormsley on 12, 14, 18 & 20 September 2020.

First-ever global online vocal festival anounced: singing returns

Live from London is a new, paid-for online festival from the VOCES8 Foundation, featuring some of the world's finest vocal ensembles including VOCES8, I Fagiolini, Stile Antico, The Swingles, The Sixteen, Chanticleer and more.

Salzburg Elektra premiere to be streamed

Stage director Krzysztof Warlikowski offers a happy ending, he hints, to Richard Strauss’ monumental tragedy Elektra at the Salzburg Festival, streamed live at its premiere on August 1 from the Felsenreitscchule at 5 PM Central European Time.

Classical Opera and The Mozartists launch their ‘Pay it Forward’ Appeal

As their concerts have been cancelled for the rest of the year, Classical Opera and The Mozartists have launched an innovative appeal to generate funds for their freelance artists, who have been severely affected and are unlikely to receive any share of the government’s pledged funding for the arts.

A virtual ‘Der Lindenbaum’: Streetwise Opera bring the 2020 Ryedale Festival Online to a restful close

Streetwise Opera were joined by baritone Roderick Williams, the Brodsky Quartet and Genesis Sixteen for a special ‘virtual’ performance of Schubert’s ‘Der Lindenbaum’, the fifth song of the composer’s song-cycle Winterreise, bringing this year’s Ryedale Festival Online to a pensive close.

Two more new titles announced for Glyndebourne Open House

Glyndebourne has announced the next two opera titles in its virtual festival, Glyndebourne Open House - Verdi’s Falstaff and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (pictured).

Music for a While: Rowan Pierce and Christopher Glynn at Ryedale Online

“Music for a while, shall all your cares beguile.”

The Two Summer Festivals That Can

Against all odds the festivals of Salzburg and Rossini’s Pesaro are forging ahead this summer with real, live opera, though the limited programs and scarcity of tickets may discourage us from journeying to Austria or Italy in August. Would that we could!

Flax and Fire: a terrific debut recital-disc from tenor Stuart Jackson

One of the nicest things about being lucky enough to enjoy opera, music and theatre, week in week out, in London’s fringe theatres, music conservatoires, and international concert halls and opera houses, is the opportunity to encounter striking performances by young talented musicians and then watch with pleasure as they fulfil those sparks of promise.

English National Opera announces new Harewood Artists for Summer 2020

English National Opera (ENO) today announces that three new singers will be joining the Harewood Artists programme this summer.

"Opportunity will come from crisis": Polly Graham, Artistic Director of Longborough Opera, in conversation

It’s ingrained in theatre-makers: “Make a show.” As she prepares to announce some new events and performances that will take place in forthcoming weeks, as well as Longborough Festival Opera’s 2021 productions, Artistic Director Polly Graham reflects on the very difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Longborough Festival which she was forced to take.


OPERA TODAY ARCHIVES »

Performances

26 Jul 2020

Music for a While: Rowan Pierce and Christopher Glynn at Ryedale Online

“Music for a while, shall all your cares beguile.” »

Recently in Performances

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19 Nov 2013

Arizona Opera Presents a Fine Flying Dutchman

Richard Wagner wrote: "The voyage through the Norwegian reefs made a wonderful impression on my imagination; the legend of the Flying Dutchman, which the sailors verified, took on a distinctive, strange coloring that only my sea adventures could have given it.” »

18 Nov 2013

The Rape of Lucretia, Glyndebourne Touring Opera

‘If she is adulterous, why is she praised? If chaste, why was she put to death?’  »

11 Nov 2013

Britten’s Atmospheric War Requiem, London

On Remembrance Sunday, Semyon Bychkov conducted Benjamin Britten's War Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall with Roderick Williams, Allan Clayton, Sabrina Cvilak, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus, Crouch End Festival Chorus and choristers of Westminster Abbey.  »

09 Nov 2013

Barbican Britten

The mantle of tenor Peter Pears’ legacy hung heavily over his immediate ‘successors’, as they performed music that had been composed by Benjamin Britten for the man to whom he avowed, ‘I write every note with your heavenly voice in my head’.  »

08 Nov 2013

Exaudi: O tenebroso giorno — Gesualdo then and now

One year since the launch of their project to create a contemporary book of Italians madrigals, vocal ensemble Exaudi returned to the Wigmore Hall to present an intermingling of old and new madrigals which was typically inventive, virtuosic and compelling.  »

08 Nov 2013

The Magic Flute, ENO, London

Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Coliseum could give the ENO a welcome boost.  »

07 Nov 2013

Madama Butterfly, Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s current new production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, an effort shared with Houston Grand Opera and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, tends to emphasize emotional involvements against a backdrop of spare sets.  »

07 Nov 2013

The (Amazing) Nose

Dmitri Shostakovich’s opera, The Nose, based on Gogol’s short story of the same name, was a smash hit for the Metropolitan Opera company in 2010 and once again, this season. »

05 Nov 2013

Death in Venice, Festival of Britten

There might not be much ‘Serenissima’ about Yoshi Oida’s 2007 production of Death in Venice — it’s more Japanese minimalism than Venetian splendour — but there is still plenty to admire, as this excellent revival by Opera North as part of its centennial celebration, Festival of Britten, underlines.  »

05 Nov 2013

“T” as in “Terrific Toronto”

With an absorbing production of Peter Grimes and a freshly spontaneous La bohème, Canadian Opera Company has set the bar very high indeed for its current season. »

02 Nov 2013

Two Boys at the Brave New Met

Whatever you think of some of the Metropolitan Opera’s recent productions, you cannot fault the Gelb administration for fearing to take risks.  »

01 Nov 2013

Wozzeck, Royal Opera

The lustreless white tiles of the laboratory which forms the set of Keith Warner’s pitiless staging of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck offer little respite — cold, hard, rigid and severe, they are a material embodiment of the bleakness and barrenness of the tragic events which will be played out within the workshop walls (sets by Stefanos Lazaridis).  »

31 Oct 2013

Wexford Festival 2013

At this year’s Wexford Festival — the 62nd operatic gathering in this small south-eastern Irish town - the trio of operas on show present many a wretched battle between duty and desire.  »

29 Oct 2013

Florilegium, Wigmore Hall

At the heart of this Wigmore Hall recital were two sacred vocal works for solo countertenor and small instrumental forces, recently recorded by Florilegium and Robin Blaze to considerable critical acclaim: J.S. Bach’s cantata ‘Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust’ and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s ‘Salve Regina’. »

23 Oct 2013

Mark-Anthony Turnage, Greek

After the bitter disappointment of  »

23 Oct 2013

Armide, Amsterdam

There is a cornucopia of ideas on display in Gluck’s Armide at Amsterdam’s Het Muziektheater, but sadly only a few of them seemed to serve the piece.  »

23 Oct 2013

London’s Vespers Ring the Right Bells

Even before it opened, Royal Opera’s Les vêpres siciliennes was the must-see production of the season. »

23 Oct 2013

Verdi’s Otello at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago has opened the season with a revival of its 2001 production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello.  »

23 Oct 2013

Angel Blue, Wigmore Hall

Having impressed UK audiences in La Boheme (for ENO) and American Lulu (for the Opera Group/Scottish Opera),  »

22 Oct 2013

Madame Butterfly at ENO

First seen in 2005, and since feted in London (several times), New York and Lithuania, Anthony Minghella’s cinematic production of Madame Butterfly remains a breath-taking visual banquet.  »

15 Oct 2013

Fun Loving H.M.S. Pinafore Opens Arizona Opera

The star of the show was the agile Robert Orth as Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty. A fine operatic baritone, Orth’s patter was machine gun fast, crisp, and completely understandable.  »

13 Oct 2013

Intriguing Duo in San Francisco

Venerable San Francisco Opera kicked off its fall season with a wholly pleasing revival of a landmark production, complemented by an engrossing world premiere.  »

13 Oct 2013

The Tragedy of Carmen, Syracuse Opera

Carmen Lite: Singing shines in Syracuse Opera’s pocket-sized The Tragedy of Carmen »

13 Oct 2013

Carmen, Yet Again

No matter how or where Carmen is produced, or by whom directed, costumed and performed, its promise of free wheeling sex and exciting rhythmic music, has made it one of the most popular operas in the world. »

13 Oct 2013

L’Arpeggiata: Mediterraneo

What do you get if you cross the sultry folk melodies of Greece, Spain and Italy with the formal repetitions of Baroque instrumental structures, and add a dash of the shady timbres and rhythmic litheness of jazz?  »

13 Oct 2013

Toby Spence, Wigmore Hall

‘All Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.’ The sentiments of the closing lines of Gerald Manley Hopkins’ sonnet, ‘No worst, there is none.  »

13 Oct 2013

Benjamin Britten: War Requiem

Britten’s War Requiem is one of the defining artistic works of the twentieth century. Consummate artwork, religious ritual and prayer, ceremonial commemoration, ideological political statement, public expression of mourning, and private avowal of faith,  »

11 Oct 2013

The Coronation of Poppea, ETO

James Conway’s production of Monteverdi’s final masterpiece, L’incoronazione di Poppea was  »

10 Oct 2013

Eugene Onegin disappoints

The company’s new production of the Tchaikovsky masterpiece is cramped and cheap, leaving the listener longing for a return of the 1997 version »

09 Oct 2013

Falstaff in San Francisco

A rambunctious ensemble on the stage and in the pit. A star conductor. Falstaff showed its stuff as one of the repertory’s greatest masterpieces.  »

09 Oct 2013

Verdi’s Macbeth in Concert at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Performances of Verdi’s Macbeth take shape and leave an overall impression from both individual and collective emphases.  »

09 Oct 2013

Robert Schumann: A Life in Song

Miah Persson and Florian Boesch sang Schumann with Malcolm Martineau at the Wigmore Hall for the latest of his Songlives series.  »

07 Oct 2013

Roberto Devereux, WNO

For the final instalment of Welsh National Opera’s Tudor trilogy, Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, director  »

07 Oct 2013

Maria Stuarda, WNO

The second installment of Welsh National Opera’s Tudor trilogy, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda saw  »

07 Oct 2013

Giasone, ETO

Once again, one can only applaud English Touring Opera’s sense of adventure — and commitment. Its autumn season comprises three Venetian operas: L’incoronazione di Poppea, Giasone, and Agrippina, all in translation.  »

07 Oct 2013

Die Fledermaus, ENO

‘Chacun à son goût!’ cries the inebriated Prince Orlovsky, invigorated by champagne and high-living. An indifferent ‘each to his own’?  »

06 Oct 2013

Stephen King in San Francisco

Coincidentally last Friday night was the closing night of San Francisco Opera’s Dolores Claiborne and the opening night of Ray of Light Theatre’s Carrie The Musical. »

05 Oct 2013

Fidelio, ENO

More than two centuries on, Fidelio may well remain the most misunderstood opera of all. »

05 Oct 2013

Anna Bolena, Welsh National Opera

Welsh National Opera's new production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena is the first part of their trilogy of Donizetti's Tudor operas, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux.  »

30 Sep 2013

Peter Grimes, Vladimir Jurowski

Vladimir Jurowski conducted a fascinating Peter Grimes with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. Fascinating, because Jurowski finds things in Britten other conductors don't get in the first place. Jurowski approaches Britten as a composer, without the usual baggage of Britishness and Brittenish.  »

30 Sep 2013

La Traviata, Hamburg

Johannes Erath's production of Verdi's La Traviata opened at the Staatsoper Hamburg in February this year, with Ailyn Perez in the title role. Perez returned with Stephen Costello as Alfredo for three performances in September 2013  »

29 Sep 2013

Elektra, Royal Opera

Charles Edwards’s production of Elektra, first seen in 2003, »

29 Sep 2013

Die Schuldigkeit Des Ersten Gebots

Last week I enjoyed the opportunity to see Bampton Classical Opera’s light-hearted, witty production of Mozart’s earliest opera — La finta semplice — a work which, despite lacking the melodic variety and texture dynamism of the later operas, is still a remarkably accomplished achievement for a boy of merely twelve years of age.  »

29 Sep 2013

Lyric Opera of Chicago Introduces its Season

In its annual concert presented to the city at Millennium Park, Lyric Opera of Chicago introduced its 2013-14 season on a recent weekend evening with a program of selections featuring several present, past, and future stars of the company.  »

28 Sep 2013

Matthias Goerne: Hugo Wolf and Franz Liszt

Matthias Goerne and Andreas Haefliger’s recital at the Wigmore Hall was eagerly anticipated. Goerne and Haefliger are a Dream Team, who have worked together for over 15 years. »

26 Sep 2013

Schubert Songs with Harp: Matthias Goerne, Wigmore Hall

In the first of his two recitals at the Wigmore Hall this week, Matthias Goerne sang Schubert, but Schubert with a difference.  »

26 Sep 2013

Opera Theater Around San Francisco

Opera in San Francisco is what occurs at the War Memorial Opera House. Every so often though you can think outside the box and find some interesting performances nearby. »

24 Sep 2013

Olga Neuwirth, American Lulu

I was a little taken aback by the reaction I received upon mentioning that I was looking forward to seeing American Lulu.  »

22 Sep 2013

Dolores Claiborne in San Francisco

Dolores Claiborne, the heroine of the book Dolores Claiborne (1992), is a figment of the imagination of prolific pulp horror novelist Stephen King.  »

22 Sep 2013

Mefistofele in San Francisco

Here is the exception. The revival of an old opera production need not always be perceived as an expedient (read cheap) solution to getting a season of opera put together, but may pass instead as an artistically thoughtful choice.  »

22 Sep 2013

La finta semplice, Bampton Classical Opera

Mozart cut his operatic teeth on La finta semplice, as a twelve-year-old prodigy being paraded before the Viennese court by his ambitious father, Leopold.  »

19 Sep 2013

Schubert : Ian Bostridge at the Wigmore Hall

Scarcely had Julius Drake seated himself, when the piano’s turbulent stream of relentless semiquavers precipitously announced the opening of Schubert’s ‘Der Strom’ (The river), the opening song in Ian Bostridge’s recital series, Schubert Lieder.  »

18 Sep 2013

Le nozze di Figaro, Royal Opera House

Although this is their fifth outing, Tanya McCallin’s sets for David McVicar’s Le Nozze di Figaro remain a sumptuous feast for the eyes. »