Month: July 2025
Leading Wagnerian Paul Carey Jones on role debuts
“Never do anything for the first time.” So the old saying goes in the opera business. This deliberate paradox contains a hard truth: making any sort of debut is a challenge. And in particular, performing a major operatic role for the first time is fraught with unforeseen dangers. So, for any young singer contemplating making…
A celebratory evening with Dido and Aeneas, Longborough Festival Opera
*** From the moment the audience entered the auditorium for the company’s Emerging Artists production this was clearly going to be a fun evening, even if the story is, of course, one of great tragedy. Musicians from the early music ensemble Barokksolistene walked up and down the side aisles, playing their instruments, and chatting with…
Fallen women: Cavalleria rusticana and Suor Angelica, Dorset Festival Opera
**** The double bill of one act operas is given a linked theme of fallen women through a clever inclusion of the nun as young girl and her lover making a making a brief appearance in Cavalleria rusticana, presumably before her convent days in Suor Angelica. Paul Carr’s direction also has nuns in the Sicilian…
A speakeasy Rigoletto at Dorset Opera Festival
**** Dorset Opera performing at the Coade Theatre at Bryanston School is more than an offering of good quality musical theatre. It is a showcase of some very strong professional singers and for the young people who have taken part in the summer school at the Blandford Forum. The combination is exhilarating. For this production…
Waterperry Opera Festival appoints John Savournin as new CEO and Artistic Director
John Savournin has been appointed as CEO and Artistic Director Waterperry Opera Festival. Chair of the Board, Judith Tew, said, “John brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and energy toWaterperry to lead the next phase of our rapid growth as a festival and a developer of the next generationof talent in opera. He is passionate…
Elegant Bellini at West Green House Opera
**** While musicianship and artistry remain the most essential elements of any opera experience, the importance of ambiance and the pleasure of the venue cannot be denied. West Green House Opera combines superb performances by both young and seasoned singers, a commitment to musical excellence from its players, and an idyllic setting in a Hampshire…
New ENO Music Director and 2025-2026 season
English National Opera (ENO) announces the appointment of André de Ridder as its new Music Director and unveils details of its programme for the 2025/26 Season. Public booking opens on 4 June 2025. The 2025/26 Season, including five new productions, major broadcast collaborations and revivals, will also mark André de Ridder’s first conducting engagement as…
Opera Holland Park announces its 2026 Season
In a year that honours 30 years since Opera Holland Park was established, the 2026 Season will open with a new production of Giacomo Puccini’s La fanciulla del West. The Season also includes a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, which will also be performed by the 2026 Young Artists. A reimagining of the enchanting…
Grange Park Opera 5-year Ring Cycle partnership with Orchestra of English National Opera
Grange Park Opera (GPO) has announced its new Ring Cycle, starting in 2026, will be a partnership with the Orchestra of English National Opera. The five-year orchestral partnership will start with Das Rheingold, then Die Walküre (2027), Siegfried (2028) and Götterdämmerung (2029), before an entire Ring Cycle in 2030. The agreement will also see the…
Keenlyside and Pritchard shine in vintage Verdi at Grange Park
**** There was something slightly surreal about watching a nearly 30-year-old David Pountney production of Simon Boccanegra at Grange Park Opera, with props from his latest work for the festival — his brooding new staging of Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa—sitting off to the side of the theatre in the woods. As a collision of old and new,…