Anselm McDonnell Belfast-based composer Anselm McDonnell appeared on these pages earlier this year with my review of his third album, Politics of the Imagination, featuring music where political commentary and sheer playfulness combine with a […]
The Richard Shephard Music Foundation (RSMF), the York-based music charity founded in 2021 to bring ‘the experience and enjoyment of music to children and young people in Yorkshire and beyond’ is celebrating its most successful […]
Handel Partenope , HWV 27 (translated Amanda Holden, ed. Clifford Bartlett) Cast; Orchestra of English National Opera / William Cole (conductor). London Coliseum, 22.11.2025 Production: Director – Christopher Alden Set designer – Andrew Leibeman Costume designer – […]
Sergei Eisenstein: Battleship Potemkin (Photo supplied by BFI) Sergei Eisenstein’s legendary 1925 silent film, Battleship Potemkin is widely considered a masterpiece in early cinema. It was inspired by the failed 1905 Russian Revolution and its iconic […]
Donatella Flick and HRH The Duke of Kent announce Nicolò Foron as winner of 17th Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in 2023 © Mark Allan Calling young conductors. Two international conducting competitions take place over the next […]
The 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth is on 16 December 2025. Musical celebrations, however, seem somewhat sparse and Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park apart, there seem to be few occasions where Austen’s text has found […]
Puccini: La Boheme – Opera North (Photo: Richard H Smith) Puccini: La boheme; Joshua Blue, Isabela Diaz, Katie Bird, Josef Jeongmeen Ahn, Han Kim, Sean Boylan, director: Phyllida Lloyd/James Hurley, conductor Catriona Beveridge; Opera North […]
Handel: Susanna – Anna Dennis – Opera North, Phoenix Dance Theatre (Photo: Tristram Kenton) Handel: Susanna; Anna Dennis, James Hall, Matthew Brook, Claire Lees, Colin Judson, Karl Haml, Opera North, Phoenix Dance Theatre, director: Olivia […]
James Pearson & Lizzie Ball (Photo: Monika C Jakubowska) In February 2026, the upstairs space at Ronnie Scott‘s will reopen as Upstairs at Ronnie’s, a newly reimagined 140-capacity music venue following a significant refurbishment. The […]
Released on The Sixteen’s award-winning own label CORO, The Wise Men an the Star includes three World Premiere recoding (by Eric Whitacre, Cecilia McDowall, and the Sixteen’s own Kim Porter). The music, obviously pays homage […]
