Garsington Opera’s 2015 production of Così fan tutte will have free screenings in three coastal communities Louth (5 July), Grimsby (29 Sept) and Ramsgate (Oct), as well as in Oxford (2 July) and Waddesdon (3 September).  Their 2014 production of Offenbach’s Vert-Vert will also be screened at Marlow Festival (14 June).

These free public screenings, together with extensive education projects, are part of the Garsington Opera for All programme, set up by Magna Vitae and the Coastal Communities Alliance after a successful bid made in the autumn to Arts Council England.

Garsington Opera for All  will work with secondary and primary schools for a week in each area where the film will be screened.   Each project will see the young people developing their own short opera based on the themes of Così fan tutte, devising and composing their own production and their residency will end in a performance to the school. All the participants will come to the screening of the opera.  On the day of the opera screening Garsington Opera will work with up to 40 adults from the community to learn and explore themes on Così fan tutte, to produce a 5-10 minute promenade performance.

Garsington Opera’s production of Così fan tutte features international star Lesley Garrett in the role of Despina, Romanian soprano Andreea Soare (making her UK debut)and Kathryn Rudge in the roles of Fiordiligi and Dorabella.  The award-winning Irish tenor Robin Tritschler (Ferrando) and Ashley Riches (Guglielmo), a former Jette Parker Young Artist, allow themselves to be drawn into the intrigues of their cynical friend Don Alfonso, sung by Welsh bass-baritone Neal Davies, who persuades them to put the love of their fiancées to the test. Garsington Opera Artistic Director Douglas Boydconducts, John Fulljames, Associate Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House directs and Dick Bird designs.

SCREENING DETAILS

MARLOW                  Sunday 14 June 7.30pm        Marlow Festival Enclosure

OXFORD                   Sunday 2 July 6pm                 Magdalen College Fields

LOUTH                       Sunday 5 July 1.30pm            SO Festival, Westgate Fields

GRIMSBY                   Tuesday 29 Sept 12noon        Grimsby Auditorium

WADDESDON           Thursday 3 September           Waddesdon Manor

RAMSGATE              October                                   Ramsgate Arts

Oxford Lieder is delighted to announce that it has won the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award in the category of ‘Chamber Music & Song’ for The Schubert Project.

As well as receiving this award they were shortlisted in the ‘Concert Series & Festivals’ category. The Schubert Project, which was the 2014 Oxford Lieder Festival, was the first time Schubert’s complete songs have ever been presented in a single festival, alongside a wide range of other cultural events; ‘bringing Schubert’s Vienna to Oxford.’

At the awards dinner held last night at The Brewery in the City of London, Sholto Kynoch, Artistic Director of Oxford Lieder, expressed his delight that The Schubert Project should be honoured in this way, as well as his excitement for the future of Oxford Lieder and his optimism for the current resurgence of song, both at the Oxford Lieder Festival and beyond.

The awards of the Royal Philharmonic Society, which is over 200 years old, celebrate the highest possible standards of excellence in all aspects of musicianship: performance, composition, inspirational arts organisations, audience engagement, and learning and participation. Oxford Lieder is thrilled to be recognised as a leading contributor to musical excellence in the UK.

Oxford Lieder exists to promote and celebrate song. The centrepiece of each year is the Oxford Lieder Festival, an extravaganza of song now well established as one of the leading festivals of its kind in Europe. Founded in 2002, the Festival brings many of the world’s most sought-after artists to Oxford, as well as showcasing an exciting new generation of young talent (including soprano Mary Bevan, winner of the RPS Award for Young Artists, who sang at last night’s ceremony accompanied by Sholto Kynoch).

The Fourteenth Oxford Lieder Festival – Singing Words: Poets & their Songs – will run 16-31 October 2015 and will once again bring a glittering array of musicians to Oxford in a diverse and enticing programme. It will focus on poets and the words that shape songs, with many programmes devoted to specific poets. A lunchtime concert series will include the complete songs of Gabriel Fauré. Artists taking part include Sarah Connolly, Christoph Prégardien, Katarina Karnéus, Matthew Rose, Sophie Karthäuser, Elizabeth Watts, Neal Davies, Roderick Williams, Anna Stéphany, Wolfgang Holzmair, Eugene Asti, Julius Drake, Graham Johnson, Roger Vignoles, Imogen Cooper and many others.

Sir Mark Elder joins TV presenter line-up for world’s largest broadcast classical music festival.

Conductor Sir Mark Elder curates BBC Four Sunday symphony series with Katie Derham as part of regular Proms broadcasts on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays on BBC Four

Every Prom broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and online in HD sound

Six of the BBC’s national radio stations – Radio 1, 1Xtra, 2, 4, 6 Music and the Asian Network – also broadcast Proms

All Proms from the Royal Albert Hall available to listen online in surround sound

120 years since the very first Proms season and in the spirit if its founding mission to make the best music available to everyone, the 2015 Proms will reach millions of music lovers beyond the concert hall, whenever and wherever they are, via BBC Radio, Television and Online.

The world’s largest broadcast classical music festival, every Prom is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and in HD Sound online. This year, BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 4, Radio 6 Music and the Asian Network will all broadcast Proms, and on BBC Television selected Proms performances will be broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four in HD and surround sound. This year, CBBC will also broadcast a Prom. All Proms recorded for Radio and Television will be available on-demand for 30 days after broadcast on BBC iPlayer via the BBC Proms website, bbc.co.uk/proms, including additional performances from across the season.

Also in 2015, all Proms from the Royal Albert Hall will be available to listen online in surround sound.

Proms on Radio

As the home of the BBC Proms and classical music, BBC Radio 3 will broadcast every Prom live from the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall. Each Prom will be available on-demand for 30 days in HD Sound via the Proms website, and each week five concerts will be repeated on Afternoon on 3 and the Proms Chamber Music concerts will be repeated on Sundays at 1.00pm. Throughout the Proms season, Radio 3 also provides extensive context around the festival’s concerts and accompanying events at the Royal College of Music in a wide range of Proms-related programming.

A series of Late Night Proms curated in collaboration with five of the BBC’s national radio stations – which along with the BBC Proms are part of BBC Music – will showcase a coming-together of musical genres: Radio 1’s dance ambassador Pete Tong celebrates 20 years of Radio 1 broadcasting and hosting live events from Europe’s dance music capital Ibiza, joining forces with the Metropole Orchestra to reimagine some of the most enduring dance music tracks in the history of the genre (Prom 16); BBC Radio 1Xtra presents a grime symphony with artists including Wretch 32, Stormzy and Krept & Konan (Prom 37); Jarvis Cocker leads a BBC Radio 4 Prom based on his popular Wireless Nights series (Prom 74); BBC Radio 6 Music’s Mary Anne Hobbs presents a reimagining of classical music by pianist Nils Frahm and due A Winged Victory for the Sullen (Prom 27); and the BBC Asian Network brings a new wave of contemporary Asian and Bollywood artists collaborating with the BBC Philharmonic (Prom 8).

BBC Radio 2 returns to the Proms for an evening concert which tells the Story of Swing presented by Clare Teal featuring two big bands led by trumpeter Guy Barker and trombonist Winston Rollins (Prom 35).

In 2015, the Proms will also reach international radio audiences through BBC World Service broadcasts of selected Proms and the festival will be broadcast in up to 50 territories via the European Broadcasting Union.

Proms on Television and Online

Selected Proms are broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, CBBC and online via the Proms website throughout the 2015 season.

The First Night of the Proms will be broadcast live on BBC Two and the Last Night of the Proms will be broadcast live on BBC Two (first half) and BBC One (second half) presented by Katie Derham. Proms Extra will return to Saturday nights at 7pm on BBC Two for seven episodes covering performances from the previous week’s Proms, interviewing artists, looking forward to the musical week ahead and featuring studio performance.

BBC Four will present a curated series of Proms broadcasts on Thursday, Friday and Sunday evenings throughout the festival: Thursday Proms will focus on soloists in both concerto and recital repertoire presented by Samira Ahmed, Tom Service and Kirsty Wark; Friday Proms will offer hot tickets to some of the absolute highlight Proms of the season with presenters including Angel Blue, Clemency Burton-Hill, Razia Iqbal, Suzy Klein and Petroc Trelawny; and Sunday Proms will focus on the symphony, with leading British conductor Sir Mark Elder introducing a different symphony each week and presenter Katie Derham hosting from the Royal Albert Hall.

BBC Music’s classical music initiative Ten Pieces culminates in a celebration of children’s creative responses to 10 pieces of music in two BBC Proms concerts which will be recorded for future broadcast on CBBC.

Viewers will be able to watch performances of all the works from any Prom filmed for TV, available for 30 days on BBC iPlayer via the Proms website, bbc.co.uk/proms.

Expanding on the growing audience for digital content which last year saw 56% of all unique browsers coming from mobile and tablet, this year more Proms content will be available online than ever before across PC, mobile and tablet. All music performed during filmed Proms and not broadcast on television will be available to watch on special online BBC iPlayer collections via the BBC Proms website,bbc.co.uk/proms. See television broadcast below for more information.

The new Proms website, bbc.co.uk/proms, is the digital home of the Proms with everything audiences need to know about the 2015 BBC Proms season, including on-demand listening, highlights videos and an online Proms Archive detailing every Proms concert since they began in 1895. A brand-new BBC Proms Guide app provides a digital version of the printed Proms Guide, available for mobile and tablet devices on iOS and Android, and BBC Playlister will also provide recommendations of works from the season in its playlists and audiences can tag any piece of music performed at the 2015 Proms and it to their own playlist. In 2015 all Proms from the Royal Albert Hall will also be available online in surround sound. For more information about the Proms 2015 digital offering go to bbc.co.uk/proms.

Sensational mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte makes her debut in the title role of Calixto Bieito’s production of Carmen, conducted by Sir Richard Armstrong.

Opens Wednesday 20 May at 7.30pm at the London Coliseum (14 performances)
Broadcast live in cinemas across UK and Ireland, and selected cinemas worldwide, as part of ENO Screen on 1 July 2015 at 7.30pm

Winner of the Young Singer Award in the 2015 International Opera Awards, mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte makes her debut in the title role of this passionate tale of lust, seduction and betrayal. Set during the dying days of Franco’s Spain, Calixto Bieito’s “cogent, gripping” (The Guardian) production of Carmen returns to the London Coliseum for its first revival.

Calixto Bieito remains one of the most sought after opera and theatre directors of his generation and is particularly well known for his radical reinterpretations of classic operas and plays. He has previously directed ENO productions of Don Giovanni (2001) A Masked Ball (2002), and Fidelio (2013). Bieito will return to the London Coliseum in November 2015 to direct a new production of Verdi’s The Force of Destiny, conducted by incoming ENO Music Director Mark Wigglesworth. The Force of Destiny is a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and will be performed in their 2017/18 season, marking Bieito’s directorial debut with the House.

Sensational mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House from 2011-13. She made her ENO debut as an “exceptionally fine” Maddalena (The Independent) in Christopher Alden’s production ofRigoletto (February 2014), and also performed the role at the Royal Opera House later in the year. Accompanied by pianist Iain Burnside she performed a series of Rachmaninoff songs at the Wigmore Hall last season, which were also recorded for the Delphian label.

Internationally acclaimed tenor Eric Cutler will made his ENO debut in the role of Don José. He has performed in many of the world’s leading opera houses, including Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich; La Monnaie, Brussels; Opera Australia and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. In 2012 he performed the role of Nadir in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers with Santa Fe Opera, for which the Wall Street Journalpraised his “focused, ringing tenor and blazing high notes”.

ENO Harewood Artist Rhian Lois returns as Frasquita. She has frequently performed with ENO and has, this season, ‘sparkled’ (Daily Telegraph) as Atalanta in Nicholas Hytner’s production of Xerxes and also created the role of the Younger Woman in the world premiere of Between Worlds, the debut opera from composer Tansy Davies and librettist Nick Drake, Between Worlds.

Former Opera Works singer Clare Presland will play Mércèdes. She made her 2012 ENO debut as the Palestinian Woman in John Adams’s The Death of Klinghoffer and has since appeared in numerous productions with the Company, including Between Worlds(alongside Rhian Lois) and as Wowkle in Richard Jones’s Olivier Award-winning The Girl of the Golden West.

ENO Harewood Artist Eleanor Dennis sings her first Micaëla, José’s ever-loyal ex-girlfriend. She most recently appeared at the London Coliseum as First Lady in Simon McBurney’s audience hit The Magic Flute. Company favourite Leigh Melrose will play the toreador Escamillo. He performed an ‘outstanding’ (The Daily Telegraph) Sonora in Richard Jones’s production of The Girl of the Golden West.

Returning to the London Coliseum to conduct this production is British conductor Sir Richard Armstrong. Formerly Music Director of Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera, his recent appearances at the London Coliseum include five star productions of both The Passenger (2011) and The Makropulos Case (2010). He will return to ENO in May 2016 to conduct 17 performances of Anthony Minghella’s production of Madam Butterfly.

Carmen opens at the London Coliseum on 20 May 2015 for 14 performances – May 20, 22, 28, 30 & June 3, 10, 12, 16, 18, 24, 29 & July 1, 3 at 7.30pm
June 14 at 3pm

ENO have announced details of the 2015 – 2016 season

• ENO’s 2015/16 season includes six new productions and five revivals, with over 60,000 tickets available for £20 or under
• Mark Wigglesworth begins his first season as ENO Music Director, conducting four productions (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Force of Destiny, The Magic Flute and Jen?fa)
• Anish Kapoor designs a new production of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, directed by Daniel Kramer with Stuart Skelton andHeidi Melton in the title roles and British bass Matthew Rose as King Mark. Outgoing Music Director, Edward Gardnerconducts
• Director Benedict Andrews returns to ENO to direct a new production of La bohème, starring Corinne Winters in the role of Mimi
• Artistic Director of Improbable, Phelim McDermott directs a new production of Philip Glass’s iconic Akhnaten
• The 2015/16 season opens with a new production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Mark Wigglesworth
• Calixto Bieito returns to the London Coliseum with Verdi’s The Force of Destiny, a major new co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York
• Christopher Alden’s critically-acclaimed production of Norma (originally created by Opera North), premieres at ENO withMarjorie Owens taking the title role
• A world-class roster of conductors including Xian Zhang, Stephen Lord, Karen Kamensek, Sir Richard Armstrong and Edward Gardner
• Revivals of audience favourites The Barber of Seville, The Mikado, The Magic Flute, Madam Butterfly and Jen?fa
• A new artistic partnership has been formed between ENO and Streetwise Opera, as part of the Company’s commitment to widening access to our work and working closely with vulnerable adults and community groups
• 88% of singers and conductors at ENO are British, British-trained or resident

Award-winning chamber choir, Bath Camerata, are thrilled to announce that Benjamin Goodson has been appointed as their new Musical Director.  Described by composer and choral conductor Paul Spicer as “unequivocally one of the most naturally gifted conductors I have encountered”, Benjamin joins the choir in time for their summer season, taking over from their founding musical director of 28 years, Nigel Perrin, who stepped aside after the choir’s acclaimed Good Friday concert in Wells Cathedral. Educated at Hertford College, Oxford, Benjamin won Oxford University’s most coveted conducting prize and now enjoys a blossoming career as a conductor, choir trainer and chorus master.  Aside from Bath Camerata, Benjamin also conducts three other choirs, a variety of ensembles and will be making his debut at the Dorset Opera Festival in July.

On his appointment Benjamin said “I am delighted to have been chosen as Bath Camerata’s musical director.  Listening to their recordings and hearing them in my audition, it was very clear to me what an excellent group of musicians this is. I look forward to working with them to build a future of innovative and exciting concerts together.”

Graham Shaw, a long term member of the choir said “As a choir we were both overwhelmed and flattered by the quantity and quality of conductors who wanted to be our new musical director.  We thoroughly enjoyed the selection process, particularly being able to work with so many talented conductors at the audition stage.”  Choir member Alastair Steel added “Benjamin’s application stood out for me, being clear and concise and conveying a passion for the variety we enjoy and the excellence for which we strive in Bath Camerata.  Benjamin is an exceptionally talented musician and we are really looking forward to new challenges, new repertoire and a new chapter in the life of Bath Camerata under his leadership.”

Bath Camerata will be appearing in two concerts during this year’s Bath International Music Festival in May, but their first major outing under the direction of Benjamin Goodson will be an American themed concert on Saturday 4 July at the Guildhall, Bath.  Tickets will be on sale from 27 April via the choir’s website www.bathcamerata.org.uk and via Bath Box Office on 01225 463362.

The Dome, Brighton, 28 March 2015

Jaime Martin takes a very precise approach to conducting and his reading of Tchaikovsky’s fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet was just that. Crisp rhythms and tight ensemble made for a high level of intensity which did not slacken even in the more overtly romantic sections. The fight scenes were aggressive and edgy, leaving little doubt as to the outcome. The conclusion was cool and inevitable rather than sad.

Cellist  Andreas Brantelid may still be young but he has been playing the Elgar concerto now for fourteen years and his experience shines through in his very personal and convincing approach. In his hands this is not a melancholic work. Lines are spun effortlessly without exaggeration or unnecessary emotion. The second part of the first movement is almost jaunty. The slow movement has a comfortable, homely feel to it, a real sense of the English countryside at peace, before the finale burst into life with its bouncy rhythms and lively attack. Even the more reflective final sections cannot erase the sense of life and joy his reading brings to the work as a whole.

After such superb playing it was a pleasure to hear him play the Saraband from Bach’s first cello suite – a moment of reflective calm after the exuberance of the Elgar.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade has the misfortune of being over familiar on radio programmes where movements seem to come up daily. Though Jaime Martin’s approach was fast paced and extrovert he was not able to conceal the way the work often seems to drift aimlessly in a haze of orientalism. The finale was exceptionally well articulated from all concerned at a lighting pace which made up in enthusiasm what it lacked in content.

Brighton Philharmonic have made the following announcement at the end of their current season:-

At the end of this season, the Brighton Philharmonic’s 90^th, Barry Wordsworth will be moving to a new role within the BPO, becoming the orchestra’s first Conductor Laureate, after 26 years as Music Director & Principal Conductor.   

We shall continue to enjoy Barry’s charismatic leadership throughout next season and beyond, as he will be conducting six of the eight concerts in the 2015/16 season at Brighton Dome.

In the meantime we are fortunate that Ian Brignall, our Concert Manager, has been working closely with Barry in planning our programmes.  He will continue to do so while we consider whom to appoint as Music Director in the longer term.  

Barry has been only the third Music Director in the 90 year history of the orchestra and we marked his huge part in our story after the final concert of the season at Brighton Dome on Sunday 22 March at a reception for Friends of the Philharmonic.  The Mayor of Brighton & Hove thanked Barry for his enormous contribution to the cultural life of the city, and the Friends of the Phil presented him with a token of their appreciation for his many years of service to the BPO.

Sunday 22 March was also the day of the BPO’s open rehearsal for schoolchildren to which over 300 children from local primary schools were invited.  These children have recently attended music workshops given by BPO players, funded by the Fonthill Foundation, an educational trust, which focused on “Mars” from Holst’s The Planets suite, one of the BBC’s Ten Pieces chosen to inspire young children to “get creative with classical music”.  Workshop participants were invited to attend the morning rehearsal in the Dome Concert Hall to experience “Mars” played live and then to attend the concert that afternoon free of charge, with accompanying adults at a flat discounted rate. 

Below are details of the summer concerts and the new season for 2015-16