Schumann’s complete songs will be the focus of the fifteenth Oxford Lieder Festival (14-29 October 2016). The Schumann Project, which falls on the 160th anniversary of the composer’s death, places his works for voice alongside an array of his other works and songs by his friends and contemporaries. The two-week Lieder Festival, which won an RPS Award for the 2014 Schubert Project, encompasses chamber and choral works, study events, artistic partnerships and world-class musicians. It will explore Schumann’s life and times, his friends and contemporaries, his influences and his legacies, and his literary and artistic interests; all illuminating and casting a fresh light on his remarkable body of songs.

Graham Johnson returns for two lecture-recitals exploring Schumann’s life and music; study days will look at Schumann’s fascination with Bach, and at the political upheaval and revolution of the 1840s; Wolfgang Holzmair will lead the residential mastercourse; and there will be film screenings, masterclasses and talks.  2016 is also the 120th anniversary of Clara Schumann’s death; her 29 songs will be included in the Festival.

Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber will give the opening recital of the Festival, and other artists appearing in Oxford for the first time include Anne Sofie von Otter, Bo Skovhus and Juliane Banse. The roster also features Thomas Allen, Sarah Connolly, Felicity Lott, James Gilchrist, Sophie Karthäuser, Christopher Maltman, Mark Padmore, Christoph Prégardien, and Roderick Williams, alongside many other leading artists and emerging stars.

Passes for the entire festival cost £460 and a week pass £280 – available now from www.oxfordlieder.co.uk / 01865 591276. General booking opens 1^st June.

www.oxfordlieder.co.uk

For the first time in its 85-year-history ENO will stage an opera by one of the greatest masters of the Italian Bel canto style, Vincenzo Bellini. His widely-acknowledged masterpiece Norma will be performed in the staging by award-winning director Christopher Alden which was first seen at Opera North in 2012 where it was described as ‘alive, energising and absorbing ‘ by the Daily Telegraph. It was subsequently seen in Chemnitz and Bordeaux.

The production relocates the setting from Gaul under Roman occupation to an imagined American Mid-West of the late 19th Century where a close-knit community’s way of life is threatened by unstoppable change. The people want war. Their priestess Norma, secretly in love with one of the enemy Pollione, resists. But now he has a new love and in the face of his betrayal it seems Norma is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Norma is a high-point of the Bel canto style with the drama expressed through vocal lines of extraordinary beauty and grandeur yet which demand exceptional technical control. Its most famous aria Casta Diva has been a showcase for many of opera’s most acclaimed sopranos including Giuditta Pasta who created the role, Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé and Cecilia Bartoli. But the work is also noted for its powerful choral episodes and two magnificent duets for the two sopranos.

Christopher Alden directs his sixth production for ENO. Known for his striking interpretations, his dramatic staging ofNorma ‘pierces to the heart of the drama’ (The Guardian). Alden’s creative team includes set designer Charles Edwards, costume designer Sue Willmington and lighting designer Adam Silverman.

Stephen Lord, Music Director of the Opera Theatre of St Louis and a noted interpreter of the Bel canto repertory, returns to lead the orchestra and chorus having previously conducted Rigoletto, La Boheme and Tosca for ENO.

Rising star soprano Marjorie Owens makes her UK, ENO and role debut in the demanding title role.  A recent Aida at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Marjorie was also a company member of Semperoper in Dresden where her roles included Daphne, Senta, Ariadne, Amelia Grimaldi and Elisabetta in Don Carlo.

American soprano Jennifer Holloway returns to ENO in the role of Adalgisa, which she sang in this production in Bordeaux. Previously here she has sung Musetta and Prince Orlofsky.

British tenor Peter Auty debuts in the role of Pollione. He has previously sung for ENO in The Girl of the Golden West,Der Rosenkavalier, Rigoletto and La bohème. Formerly a company principal at the Royal Opera House he has also performed with Grange Park Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North and Scottish Opera. Peter’s professional musical career started at the tender age of 13, when as a choir boy at St Paul’s Cathedral he was chosen to sing ‘Walking in the Air’,the theme to the 1982 animated film of The Snowman.

Celebrated American bass James Creswell is Norma’s father Oroveso, a role he performed in this production with Opera North in 2012 and in Bordeaux. His previous roles for ENO include Padre Guardiano in The Force of Destiny, Pogner in Richard Jones’s Olivier Award-winning production of The Mastersingers of Nuremberg and Sarastro in Simon McBurney’s production of The Magic Flute, a role he will reprise in its revival in February 2016.

Scottish mezzo-soprano Valerie Reid sings the role of Norma’s friend Clotilde. For ENO she has previously sung in numerous productions including La traviata, Juiletta , Peter Grimes, and Katya Kabanova and will perform the role of Mayor’s Wife in David Alden’s revival of Jenufa in June 2016.

Completing the cast is Australian tenor Adrian Dwyer as Pollione’s companion Flavio. Adrian recently sung the role of Trabuco in The Force of Destiny and has also performed in The Girl of the Golden West, Fidelio, Death in Venice, The Passenger, Wozzeck, Parsifal and Lucia di Lammermoor all for ENO.

Norma opens on Wednesday 17 February 2016 at 7.30pm for 7 performances –24, 27 February, 2, 7, 11, March at 7.30pm, 20 February at 6.30pm.

Pre-performance talk: Wednesday February 5.15-6pm, £5/£2.50 concs.

Originally created by Opera North in a co-production with Die Theater Chemnitz

New production supported by the English National Opera Trust and the American Friends of ENO.

Norma

Award-winning director Christopher Alden returns to ENO for its first ever production of Bellini’s indisputable Bel canto masterpieceNorma. Alden’s critically acclaimed  production, first seen at Opera North in 2012 comes to London for the first time.

A close-knit community’s way of life is threatened by unstoppable change. The people want war. Their priestess Norma, secretly in love with one of the enemy Pollione, resists. But now he has a new love and in the face of his betrayal it seems Norma is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. Celebrated for its fine melodies Norma features one of opera’s most recognisable arias ‘Casta Diva’, made famous by sopranos Maria Callas and Dame Joan Sutherland.

Rising star soprano Marjorie Owens makes her UK, ENO and role debut in the demanding title role with British tenor Peter Auty debuting in the role of Pollione.

Norma opens on Wednesday 17 February 2016 at 7.30pm for 7 performances. Tickets are available at eno.org/020 7845 9300

Akhnaten

Watching Akhnaten is a thought-provoking, absorbing experience. The opera, which has not been seen in London for almost 30 years, explores the life and religious convictions of the Egyptian pharaoh.

Following the success of his ENO productions of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha and The Perfect American, Improbable Theatre Company’s Phelim McDermott returns to direct this hypnotically mesmerising work. Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo sings the challenging title role for the first time while conductor Karen Kamensek, a specialist in Glass’s music, makes her ENO debut.

This new production celebrates ENO’s close relationship with one of contemporary music’s leading composers.

Akhnaten opens on the 4^th March for 7 performances. Tickets are available at eno.org / 020 7845 9300

Tristan and Isolde

An epic drama told on a grand scale, Tristan and Isolde will be an unforgettable highlight of ENO’s 2015/16 Season. From the opening bars of the famous prelude, Wagner’s powerful opera is one of the most significant pieces in the repertoire.

ENO’s first new production of Tristan and Isolde since 1996 is directed by ‘theatre’s most exciting young director’ (Daily Telegraph) Daniel Kramer, with designs from Anish Kapoor, one of the most influential sculptors of his generation. The exceptional cast is led by the outstanding Wagnerian Heldentenor Stuart Skelton as Tristan. He is joined by American dramatic soprano Heidi Melton and British Bass Matthew Rose. Former ENO Music Director Edward Gardner conducts.

Tristan and Isolde opens on the 9^th June for 8 performances. Tickets are available at eno.org / 020 7845 9300

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One opera trilogy, three established directors and two of Britain’s most celebrated theatre designers are just some of the ingredients for two new productions and a world premiere in Welsh National Opera’s forthcoming spring season.

For over 200 years the character of Figaro has remained one of opera’s most theatrical creations. Welsh National Opera will celebrate the story of this wily character with his lust for life and a desire for matchmaking and mischief in a trilogy of operas in their spring season Figaro Forever.

The season of operas, all sung in English, features new productions of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro together with the World Premiere of Figaro Gets a Divorce by Russian born British composer Elena Langer with a libretto by WNO’s Artistic Director David Pountney.

The exceptional design team for the trilogy will be set designer Ralph Koltai CBE RDI and costume designer Sue Blane MBE. Koltai is generally acknowledged as the principal innovator of British Theatre Design and has designed some 250 productions of opera, dance, drama and musicals throughout the world. His contemporary set for the WNO productions will feature in all three operas in a unique design system evoking the changing worlds in which Figaro must operate.

Sue Blane is one of the UK’s leading film and theatre costume designers who has been at the forefront of the European theatre scene for over forty years and is particularly well known for her original designs for the iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Beginning the story is The Barber of Seville with its much loved characters and music inspired by the comedy by Beaumarchais. The Barber of Seville will be directed by young British theatre director and comic opera specialist, Sam Brown, making his WNO debut with Welsh National Opera Orchestra conducted by James Southall. Australian born baritone Nicholas Lester also makes his WNO debut and takes on the role of the scheming Figaro.  Andrew Shore reprises his recent role with English National Opera as Bartolo, whilst British soprano Claire Booth will sing the role of Bartolo’s young ward Rosina. Tenor Nico Darmanin takes the role of her lover Count Almaviva with Richard Wiegold as Basilio.

Mozart’s ever popular The Marriage of Figaro continues with the spirited characters in the story of Count Almaviva’s household with a host of intrigues and romances all packed into one day :Figaro’s Wedding Day! Tobias Richter, Director General of Grand Théâtre de Gèneve, directs and Lothar Koenigs conducts his last opera as the Company’s Music Director. David Stout sings Figaro and is alongside Anna Devin as Susanna with Mark Stone and Elizabeth Watts as the troubled Count and Countess Almaviva.

The World Premiere of Figaro Gets A Divorce will be conducted by Justin Brown, General Music Director of the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany, and Music Director Laureate of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in the United States. In an affectionate sequel to Mozart’s classic, the final chapter of the story is brought to a close for these much loved characters, whose relationships are put under intense strain by political instability in 1930’s Europe. David Stout, Mark Stone and Elizabeth Watts continue their roles as Figaro and Count and Countess Almaviva for the opera, joined by a cast that includes Marie Arnet (Susanna), Alan Oke (The Major), Andrew Watts (The Cherub) Naomi O’Connell (Serafin) and Rhian Lois (Angelica).

Composer Elena Langer has written compositions in diverse genres including opera and multimedia, orchestral, chamber and choral works and together with WNO’s Artistic Director David Pountney has created a lyrical and striking ending to Figaro’s story.

David Pountney said “I had been intrigued by the idea of how the story might end and what the world of Figaro sounds like in the hands of a contemporary composer. As well as the everyday troubles, the rumblings of revolution were getting closer in The Marriage of Figaro posing the question of how these characters would survive as their world breaks apart.”

More information on WNO’s spring 2016 season is available at wno.org.uk/figaroforever

On Sunday 6 December, British mezzo-soprano Dame Felicity Palmer presented director Jonathan Miller and the cast and chorus ofThe Mikado with a cake to celebrate the 200^th performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic at the London Coliseum.

This production first premiered for English National Opera on 21 September 1986 and has delighted audiences for almost 30 years. During this time, it has played to over 400,000 audience members and has been broadcast on ITV (in 1987) and screened live to cinemas across the UK and internationally (3 December 2015).

Original cast members include: Eric Idle playing Ko Ko, the Lord High Executioner, Lesley Garret, Jean Rigby and Susan Bullock as Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo, Dame Felicity Palmer as Katisha and the late Richard Angas as the Mikado.

Miller’s ‘glorious production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best comic opera’ (Daily Express) has become a true audience favourite and is the perfect Christmas treat for all the family. Its Marx Brother’s inspired song-and-dance take on Gilbert & Sullivan has long been a hit with theatre-goers of all ages. Full of high-kicking chorus lines, satirical touches and a wonderfully elegant score it tells the tale of Nanki-Poo and his love for Yum Yum. There’s just one snag. She’s betrothed to Ko-Ko, the new Lord High Executioner. And he needs someone to execute otherwise it’s his own head on the block. Perhaps Ko-Ko and Nanki-Poo can come to some arrangement, without anyone losing their head?

The Mikado runs until 6 February 2016 www.eno.org

photos(c) ENO/Richard Hubert Smith

BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales today announce that the conductor Xian Zhang has been appointed as Principal Guest Conductor, with effect from 1 September 2016 for an initial three year period.

Xian Zhang said: “I’m so excited to be working with BBC National Orchestra of Wales; they are a fantastic group of musicians who genuinely love making music, and are a natural team. They have some exceptional qualities that have really impressed me. The first thing we ever worked on together was Ravel’s Bolero, it was so precise, with the right colour and texture – I was really speechless after the first reading! Under the strong leadership of Lesley Hatfield, the musicians rehearse in such a disciplined manner that is not often seen. It’s a great pleasure to make music with them and I very much look forward to further developing our relationship in my new role with BBC NOW.”

Michael Garvey, Director, BBC NOW commented: ‘“I am thrilled to be welcoming Xian Zhang to the BBC NOW family as Principal Guest Conductor –bringing yet another exceptional artist to work with us, continuing our commitment to artistic excellence across Wales and further afield. Our recent concerts with her, in Swansea and the BBC Proms, were so energised, balanced and refined; we knew that an appointment would be the perfect fit. We look forward to seeing her back in Cardiff in September.”

During Zhang’s three-year appointment, she will conduct the orchestra in annual concerts at BBC Hoddinott Hall, St David’s Hall and Brangwyn Hall, with repertoire featuring Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Rimsky Korsakov and Berlioz in her first season. BBC NOW will also perform at the BBC Proms under Zhang’s baton during her tenure and embark on an ‘On the road’ tour around Wales.

On 27 Sept 2016 Zhang conducts her inaugural concert at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, with a programme featuring Tchaikovsky’sSymphony No 4 and Barber’s Violin Concerto, with Chloë Hanslip as soloist. Further highlights of Zhang’s 2016-2017 season include a performance at a prominent welsh music festival and a collaboration with Chinese composer Qigang Chen.

Proms history was made when Marin Alsop became the first woman to conduct the world famous Last Night of the Proms in 2013, and there is a growing wealth of female conductors regularly performing at the BBC Proms and working with the BBC’s orchestras. Xian Zhang will be the first female conductor to have a titled role with a BBC orchestra when she becomes BBC NOW’s Principal Guest Conductor next year.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director, BBC Wales, commented: ‘“BBC NOW have had an incredible year, and to top it off we are now announcing this exciting appointment. I’m confident that alongside Principal Conductor Thomas Søndergård, and our dedicated musicians, Xian’s creative input will ensure many more memorable moments in the coming seasons.”

Alan Davey, Controller, BBC Radio 3 said: “Following her stunning performance at this year’s BBC Proms in July, I’m delighted we have booked Xian Zhang for BBC NOW. She is a talented conductor who can bring her passion to bear at an artistically exciting time for the orchestra. The BBC Performing groups are in rude health and their role in the BBC Radio 3 family is essential, where they form the backbone of our concert broadcasts. I’d like to welcome Xian Zhang, and look forward to hearing her first BBC NOW concerts with us.”

Born in Dandong, China, Xian Zhang made her professional debut conducting The Marriage of Figaro at the Central Opera House in Beijing at the age of 20. She trained at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, earning both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees before moving to the United States in 1998. She was appointed the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their Associate Conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair. Zhang has served as Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi since September 2009 and has recently been announced as the next Music Director of New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

A regular conductor with the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras, Zhang’s recent highlights include her return to the BBC Proms with BBC NOW, as well as performances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony orchestras. This season, she debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, and she returns to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Belgique. Zhang continues to work frequently in North America; recent performances have included a week of Chinese New Year concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This season’s operatic performances include a return to English National Opera for La bohème and her debut with Den Norske Opera conducting La traviata in January. Following Zhang’s hugely successful production of Nabucco with Welsh National Opera in June 2014, which subsequently transferred to the Savonlinna Festival, she returns to the festival in summer 2016 to conduct Otello, marking her debut with the opera company itself.