Classical and Opera Features
by Simon Thomas
Actor Laurence Olivier once catalogued the injuries he had received during a lifetime of physically demanding stage performances. It was a long list which involved…
by Simon Thomas
One of the first opera visits I ever made was to see Reginald Goodall’s Ring at English National Opera in the mid seventies. It was...
by Keith McDonnell
Luciano Pavarotti, or Fat Lucy as he was affectionately known, as the world’s most instantly recognizable opera singer, has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer,...
by Ben Hogwood
The Scandinavian anniversary composers get more of a look-in as the Proms, now fully into its stride, begins to extend a welcoming arm to European...
by Ben Hogwood
The temperature of the Proms has risen appreciably with some stunning recent concerts from visiting orchestras. By the look of the week ahead, there are...
by Ben Hogwood
Another week, another starry collection at the Proms – and this without Maxim Vengerov, who has sadly had to pull out of his scheduled late...
by Simon Thomas
Hugo Shirley and Andrew O’Brien met in 2000 when they were working in a record shop and this meeting of like minds led on to...
by Ben Hogwood
The last few weeks of the Proms seem to scurry past like the finale in a Beethoven symphony. And this year is no different, though...
by musicOMH
I bow to the convention of opera interviews in reporting that Patrizia Ciofi arrives in true diva style: fifteen minutes late, but that’s really as...
by Ben Hogwood
BBC orchestras feature heavily in the Proms festival’s fourth week, which has a distinctly bread and butter’ feel to it in terms of repertoire. Don’t...
by Simon Thomas
Gstaad, famous as a fashionable winter resort, is idyllically situated at 1,050 metres above sea level, in the Swiss Alps.The town has played host every...
by Ben Hogwood
Yes, it really is that time of year again – the sun may be yet to make a prolonged appearance in the English summer, but...
by Ben Hogwood
Strike up the band – it’s time for brass at this year’s Proms – a whole day of it, in fact! If you either play...
by Ben Hogwood
A jamboree, two substantial sacred works, an opera, two attractive concerts of French music and a premiere – all dishes on the menu as the...
by Dave Paxton
Hero worship is nothing new in the annals of classical music – a world of flaunting superstars and lonely, adoring followers. In his book The...
by Simon Thomas
What is striking about Sir Thomas Allen on meeting him is his passion. A few days before the opening night of his “umpteenth” Cos fan...
by Dave Paxton
On its 60th anniversary, the Edinburgh International Festival is long established as one of the highlights of the British cultural year. Jonathan Mills, in his...
by Dave Paxton
Buxton is one of the gems of the Peak District and its opera house one of the loveliest in England. Yes, the 2007 Festival boasts...
by musicOMH
Toby Spence doesn’t look like an opera star. Athletically built, with spiky blond hair, he actually looks more like a surfer (which he is, incidentally,...
by musicOMH
Devilishly handsome with a voice that can charm the most demanding of critics, the young Uruguayan bass-baritone Erwin Schrott has become something of a sensation...
