Nicholas Hytner’s critically-acclaimed 1985 production of Xerxes, the oldest production in ENO’s repertoire, returns this season with an all-British cast reinforcing ENO’s “unrivalled reputation as the world’s leading house for Handel” (The Sunday Times).

Winner of the 1985 Olivier Award for outstanding new production, Xerxes features spectacular designs by David Fielding with lighting by Paul Pyant evoking Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in the 18^th century.

Michael Hofstetter leads the ENO chorus and orchestra following his successful house debut conducting Peter Konwitschny’s La traviata in 2013.

Over the past 29 years, the title role of Xerxes has been played by some of the world’s most outstanding mezzo-sopranos including Ann Murray in 1985 and 1988, Louise Winter in 1994 and Sarah Connolly in 1998 and 2002, whose international career was launched by the role. For this revival, internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Alice Coote sings the title role for the first time.

Counter tenor Andrew Watts plays Arsamenes. Soprano Sarah Tynan sings the role of Romilda. Sarah was an ENO Harewood Artist and later became an ENO Company Principal, a position she held until 2007. In their first Handelian roles ENO Harewood Artists Rhian Lois and Catherine Young are Atalanta (Romilda’s naughty sister) and Amastris (Xerxes jilted fiancée) respectively. Rhian has recently played Adele in Christopher Alden’s Die Fledermaus in September 2013 and First Niece in David Alden’s critically acclaimed revival of Peter Grimes in January 2014. Catherine took part in ENO Baylis Opera Works programme in 2009-2010, and in September 2010 became an ENO Harewood Artist. She made her professional debut with ENO in June 2011 as Hippolyta in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Bass Neal Davies sings the role of Ariodates, Romilda’s father. Previous roles for ENO include Kolenaty in The Makropoulos Case in 2010. He has also sung at The Royal Opera House, Welsh National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Baritone Adrian Powter plays Elviro, Arsamenes’s servant.

Xerxes opens at the London Coliseum on Monday 15 September for 6 performances – 15, 20, 24, 26 September and 1, 3 October at 7.00pm.

Welsh National Opera’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director, David Pountney, has been awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class. He was presented the award by the President of the Republic Heinz Fisher in a ceremony which took place in the opening of the Bregenz Festival.

The award honours Austrians and foreign leading figures who have “distinguished themselves and earned general acclaim through especially superior creative and commendable services in the areas of the sciences or the arts” and is conferred by the Federal President.

This year marks David Pountney’s last year as Artistic Director of the Bregenz Festival, a position he has held since 2004

David Pountney says, “It is a great honour to be recognised by a State which has such an astoundingly rich cultural inheritance. I have worked on various Austrian stages from the Wiener Staatsoper to Linz whose new opera house opened with my production of Philip Glass’s new opera “Spüren der Verirrten” last year, but my main focus has been on the Bregenz Festival where I made my debut in 1989, and have enjoyed 10 marvellous years as Intendant since 2004.”

David Pountney has already been made a Commander of the British Empire and a Chevalier in the French Ordre des Arts et Lettres and was last year presented with the Cavalier’s Cross of the Order of Merit for his contribution to the promotion of Polish culture.

The BBC Singers today announced the appointment of Judith Weir CBE as their new Associate Composer from January 2015, in a tenure running until 2018.

It follows the announcement that Judith Weir will be Peter Maxwell Davies’s successor as Master of the Queen’s Music, the first ever female composer to take up the role.

Weir will be the fourth composer to take up the position with the BBC Singers, following in the footsteps of Gabriel Jackson, who held the post from 2010 to 2013, Judith Bingham, and Edward Cowie who was the first BBC Singers Associate Composer in 2002.

Weir already has a long-standing relationship with the BBC Singers, who have been performing her music for over 10 years. Her first commission for the group was Concrete which premiered in 2008 at the BBC Composer weekend. The BBC Singers have performed Weir’s music in many notable venues including the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms, St Magnus International Festival, Cadogan Hall and the Barbican Centre.

Paul Hughes, General Manager of the BBC Singers, says: “I’m delighted that Judith – a long-time friend of the BBC Singers – has agreed to join us.  Her choral writing is exquisite and fits us like a glove; she has the wonderful ability to curate interesting programmes around her music, and she is an inspiration for younger generations of composers.  I look forward to many exciting times ahead.”

Judith Weir says: “Many of my best musical experiences, whether as composer or listener– in performances, recordings and workshops – have been spent in company with the BBC Singers. This world-famous choral ensemble is immensely experienced and professional, but nevertheless always friendly and flexible in rehearsal.  It’s with great enthusiasm and pleasure therefore, that I have accepted the invitation to become their next Associate Composer. In the 90th year of their foundation, their record of supporting living composers and new music has few equals, and I feel extremely fortunate to have the chance of working with them on a regular basis in the coming years.”

Reuniting the team behind Peter Grimes, ENO’s 2014/15 season opens with a new production of Otello which opens on Saturday 13 September 2014.

ENO celebrates the 450^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth with a new production of Verdi’s Otello, reuniting the team behind five-star smash hit Peter Grimes – director David Alden, conductor and ENO Music Director Edward Gardner and Australian heldentenor Stuart Skelton.

Marking his 30^th year at ENO and 25 years since the premiere of his last Verdi opera with the company, A Masked Ball in 1989, David Alden’s production combines beautiful Byzantine-influenced imagery with nineteenth-century costumes designed by Jon Morrell (Top Hat, 2013 Olivier Award for Best Costume Design) and outstanding performances by a world-class cast, chorus and orchestra, led by Edward Gardner.

Edward has collaborated with David Alden on numerous occasions, including 2013 production of Billy Budd and 2006 production of Jen?fa.  

Winner of Male Singer of the Year at 2014 International Opera Awards, Stuart Skelton makes his debut in the title role. In February 2014, Stuart’s performance of Peter Grimes was broadcast live to over 300 cinemas in UK and Ireland and was seen by over 17,000 people – the largest ever cinema audience for an opera by a British composer. Stuart will appear at the BBC Proms on 18 August in a performance of Rachmaninov’s The Bells, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Crouch End Festival Chorus conducted by Edward Gardner.

Completing the creative team is Lighting Designer Adam Silverman and Movement Director Maxine Braham who both worked alongside Alden and Gardner on their production of Peter Grimes.

Irish American baritone Brian Mulligan makes his role debut as Iago, while American rising star soprano Leah Crocetto makes her UK operatic debut as Desdemona, Otello’s unjustly accused wife. A former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, Leah was a finalist in the 2011 Cardiff Singer of the World competition and has sung the role of Desdemona to great acclaim in Bordeaux, Venice and Frankfurt.

Playing the role of Cassio is British tenor Allan Clayton, who was nominated as a Young Singer of the Year in the inaugural International Opera Awards. ENO Harewood Artist Barnaby Rea plays the role of Lodovico.

Other British castings include Cumbrian tenor Peter Van Hulle in the role of Roderigo, baritone Charles Johnston as Montano and ENO favourite Pamela Helen Stephen playing the role of Emilia.

Otello opens at the London Coliseum on 13 September 2014 for 10 performances – 13, 16, 19, 25 September and 9, 14, 17 October at 7.30pm and 27 September and 4, 11 October at 6.30pm.

A co-production with The Royal Swedish Opera and Teatro Real, Madrid

The BBC has today unveiled ten pieces of music which will act as a gateway to children learning more about classical music and inspire them to use music as a stimulus for their own creativity.

Ten Pieces is an ambitious new initiative for primary schools, which aims to inspire a generation of children to get creative with classical music. With a range of online resources, UK-wide events and close collaboration with partners, every primary school across the UK will have the opportunity to take part.

The ten pieces were announced at the launch of BBC Music, as the BBC renewed its commitment to music and announced a series of initiatives, including support for emerging talent, digital innovations, landmark programmes and live events.

The ten pieces are:

John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 (1st movement)

Britten: ‘Storm’ Interlude from ‘Peter Grimes’

Grieg: In the Hall of the Mountain King from ‘Peer Gynt’

Handel: Zadok the Priest

Holst: Mars from ‘The Planets’

Anna Meredith: Connect It

Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 (3rd movement)

Mussorgsky: A Night on the Bare Mountain

Stravinsky: The Firebird ­ suite (1911) (Finale)

Players from the BBC Concert Orchestra will perform a medley of the pieces on BBC Radio 3‘s drive-time show, In Tune, today [16 June] from 4:30pm. The show will be broadcast live from the Piazza at BBC Broadcasting House, presented by Sean Rafferty and Suzy Klein.

Schools can sign up now to take part in the project via www.bbc.co.uk/tenpieces

Led by BBC Learning, the BBC Orchestras and the BBC Singers, Ten Pieces begins in October with a week of special screenings for schools in cinemas across the UK of an inspiring new film introducing the ten pieces of classical music.

During the autumn term, children will be asked to respond creatively to the music through their own compositions, dance, digital art or animation.

• 2015 collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company of abridged version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Mendelssohn’s incidental music.

• From 2017 Philharmonia Orchestra to join Garsington Opera for one opera production every season

As the curtain goes up on Garsington Opera’s 25^th anniversary season, Douglas Boyd, artistic director, is delighted to announce two major developments. In 2015 there will be a collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company of an abridged version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Mendelssohn’s incidental music and from 2017 the Philharmonia Orchestra will join Garsington Opera for one opera production every season.

THE PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA AND GARSINGTON OPERA

Garsington Opera continues to develop as a major summer opera festival and will form a partnership with one of the world’s great symphony orchestras, the Philharmonia Orchestra, initially for five years, which will enhance the artistic quality and reputation of the company. Garsington Opera is also committed to the Garsington Opera Orchestra, which will focus on baroque, classical, Italian and chamber works, whilst the Philharmonia Orchestra will enable larger-scale works to be performed.

David Whelton, Philharmonia Orchestra, Managing Director said:  “Creative partnership is at the beating heart of the Philharmonia’s artistic approach, and the opportunity for us to collaborate with one of the most forward-thinking opera festivals in the UK is tremendously exciting.  We are absolutely delighted to be a part of Garsington Opera’s future, and look forward immensely to working together with Douglas Boyd and the Garsington creative team to bring extraordinary new productions of the larger scale 19th and early 20th century repertoire to audiences at Wormsley.”

2015 AND THE RSC

For the first time Garsington Opera is working on a joint project with the RSC with performances at both Wormsley and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford. It will be a rare opportunity to see an abridged version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, under the creative guidance of Gregory Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, illuminated with Mendelssohn’s enchanting incidental music, played and sung by the Garsington Opera Company and Orchestra, conducted by Douglas Boyd.

RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran said “A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, so I am delighted to be able to stage this bespoke version incorporating speeches from the play along with Mendelssohn’s gorgeous score.  It was one of the first pieces of music I heard in childhood and inspired my lifelong love of Shakespeare.  This is a very exciting new collaboration with Garsington Opera, and I hope will appeal to lovers of theatre and music alike.”

The 2015 season will also feature three new productions – Mozart’s Così fan tutti  conducted by Douglas Boyd and directed by John Fulljames, Britten’s Death in Venice conducted by Steuart Bedford who conducted the world premiere in 1973, and directed by Paul Curran and Strauss’ Intermezzo conductor Jac van Steen, director Bruno Ravella.

Douglas Boyd said: I am thrilled that we are collaborating with two such highly acclaimed international companies.  These are exciting developments which reflect our ambitions to continue to grow artistically as an international summer opera festival. 

2016

Douglas Boyd will conduct a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin directed by Sir Michael Boyd, David Parry conducts Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri directed by William Tuckett and Tobias Ringborn conducts Mozart’s Idomeneo with Tim Albery directing.

THE FUTURE

Two world premieres are planned for 2017 and 2018; an Opera for All following on from the success of Orlando Gough/Richard Stilgoe’s community opera Road Rage, and a new work within our main season.

All Saints Church, Hove, 23 May 2014

As this year’s Brighton Festival draws to a close, so the Elias Quartet bring their Beethoven cycle to a successful and very gratifying conclusion. As with previous evenings, each concert covers a wide range of Beethoven’s string writing, on this occasion moving from Op18, via The Harp, to Op 130 and the Grosse Fuge.

The vast spaces of All Saints seemed a little intimidating for the intimacy of Op18 though the pp passages carried well. The Elias’ approach to Op18 No4 was to look forward rather than take a nostalgic view of Haydn’s writing, and the Andante was clearly linked to the first symphony. The Menuetto had an unexpected urgency about it, searching for something it never quite found. As such this made a very good bridge into Op74 The Harp.

The virility of the writing was much to the fore here, with the cello soaring beautifully at the end of the first movement. The Adagio unfolded seductively and had the gentlest of endings before the passion of the Presto and a fine viola solo as it moved towards the wistful conclusion.

With Op130 we were into a different world altogether. No problem here with the acoustic. It was almost as if the volume had been turned up so that we hear each part with greater clarity. After the intensity of the opening movement, the Presto came as a pleasant relief, immediately supported by the warmth of the Andante. The dance metre of the fourth movement was not overplayed, keeping it closer to the warmth of the earlier movements. The magnificent cavatina   was breathtakingly beautiful, a hint of melancholy throughout acting against any possibility of sentimentality.

The final Grosse Fuge brought the evening, and the series, to a triumphant climax. Beethoven makes severe demands upon both the players and the listeners in this work, but the rewards for all are amply worth the efforts on both sides of the stage. The warmth of the response was fully justified.

The quartet are recording all the Beethoven quartets for release later in the year. Those of us who attended the live performances will need no other encouragement to buy them as soon as they are available.

A special Beethoven weekend (5/6 July) of music and poetry exploring the themes of tyranny, justice and freedom from oppression is planned to mark  the 100^th anniversary of  the First World War. Opening with a conversation, hosted by James Naughtie with Oxford historian Professor Margaret MacMillan, writer Miranda Carter and Jeremy Paxman, it will be followed by a performance of Fidelio.

World famous cellist Steven Isserlis gives a recital of cello sonatas by Beethoven and  Frank Bridge (written in 1916) that will be interspersed by readings of war poetry, read by Samuel West, including recently discovered unpublished poems by Siegfried Sassoon ( including one addressed to Beethoven).  Renowned singer Ann Murray gives a masterclass with young Garsington Opera singers and the weekend also features tours of the Getty Library and a special cricket match with England Women’s X1 vs an international celebrity team.

The weekend’s highlight is the first ever symphony concert in the Opera Pavilion and will feature Beethoven’s incidental music to Goethe’s tragedy Egmont and Schoenberg’s  visceral A Survivor from Warsaw.  Both works will be narrated by Samuel West.  The evening culminates with Beethoven’s Symphony no 9 in D minor.  Douglas Boyd conducts the Garsington Opera Orchestra and Chorus with Natalya Romaniw, Victoria Simmonds, Paul Nilon and Matthew Rose as soloists..

Douglas Boyd, Artistic Director of Garsington Opera  said:  Beethoven has the power to express every emotion of the human spirit. I feel that as well as the overwhelming emotional appeal of his music, there are underlying messages of freedom, justice and, ultimately, love that permeate his work.  The ending of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Its universal message of hope for a better world is very relevant to the centenary of the First World War.  

Garsington Opera’s 25^th anniversary season opens on 6 June with three productions – the British premiere of Offenbach’s sparkling comedy Vert-Vert, Janá?ek’s 20^th century masterpiece The Cunning Little Vixen and Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio.

Tickets from www.garsingtonopera.org  telephone 01865 361636

Welsh National Opera have won the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society [RPS] Opera and Music Theatre Award for their productions of Lulu, Lohengrin and Paul Bunyan in 2013. The criteria for RPS Opera and Music Theatre Award is for musical and artistic excellence of a production, company (large or small-scale) or individual.

The RPS Music Awards, presented in association with BBC Radio 3, are the highest recognition for live classical music and musical excellence in the United Kingdom.   Winners in 13 categories, chosen by independent juries, were announced at a glittering ceremony at London’s Dorchester Hotel (evening – 13 May) hosted by BBC Radio 3’s Petroc Trelawny and Sara Mohr-Pietsch, with silver lyre RPS trophies presented by pianist Graham Johnson.

David Pountney, WNO Chief Executive & Artistic Director says, “WNO is incredibly proud to receive this, the most prestigious of all the music awards. It is especially gratifying for us because it acknowledges the breadth and reach of our work, from the ambitious and relatively rarefied in the case of Lulu, the classical in the case of Lohengrin, and finally encompassing our highly skilled and innovative Youth and Community programme with Paul Bunyan. This award is a true badge of quality, and we hope it will inspire all those who support WNO and culture generally to redouble their efforts to ensure that we remain a civilised, cultivated community with access to the great traditions of European culture.”

Berg’s Lulu opened WNO’s Spring season in 2013 and marked David Pountney’s first new production in his role as Chief Executive & Artistic Director of WNO. The production, which was conducted by WNO Music Director Lothar Koenigs, received rave reviews from press and was nominated for the 2014 Opera Awards in the category of ‘New Production’. The role of Lulu was sung by Marie Arnet.

Antony McDonald’s new production of Lohengrin, which was staged by WNO in Summer 2013, marked the bicentenary of Wagner’s birth and the opening performance was performed in the presence of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Patron of Welsh National Opera at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. The production was conducted by Lothar Koenigs, with Peter Wedd singing the role of Lohengrin and soprano Emma Bell singing Elsa von Brabant.  Fiona Maddocks from The Observer described the production as a ‘tour de force’ and it earned a 5* review from the Financial Times.

Lothar Koenigs says: “I feel very privileged to be Music Director of WNO and I want to thank all my colleagues for their commitment and passion for opera. Everyone at WNO should be proud that all their hard work has been recognized by this most prestigious award.”

Paul Bunyan was a production by WNO Youth Opera, which was performed in August 2013 and featured more than 100 singers, orchestral players, technical students, costume makers, dressers and wigs & make up students all aged between 16 & 25. Amongst the cast were Only Boys Aloud as The Lumberjack Chorus and Stephen Fry as the voice of Paul Bunyan. The production also marked the centenary of Britten’s birth last year in 2013 and was shortlisted in the Opera category of the South Bank Sky Arts Awards.

On presenting the award the RPS Jury said:  “Lulu, Lohengrin and Paul Bunyan were three bold, contrasting productions, each of the very highest musical and theatrical standard. A showcase for Welsh National Opera’s world-class ensemble, orchestra and chorus. And forPaul Bunyan they were joined by Welsh National Youth Opera, whose collaboration with boys’ choir, Only Boys Aloud, gave a fresh and powerful insight into Britten’s first opera.”

A special programme devoted to the RPS Music Awards will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday 18 May at 10pm.

The RPS Music Awards are unique in the breadth of musical achievement they span – from performers, composers and inspirational arts organisations to learning, participation and engagement.  The list of winners since 1989 reads as a roll call of the finest living musicians.    www.rpsmusicawards.com