Anna Prohaska and Phantasm’s stunning Byrd and English Song at Wigmore Hall

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Byrd Compared: Byrd and English Song: Anna Prohaska (soprano), Phantasm (Laurence Dreyfus [treble viol/director], Jonathan Manson, Emilia Benjamin [tenor viols], Markku Luolajan-Mikkola [bass viol]). Wigmore Hall, London, 10.01.2024. (CC)

Anna Prohaska (soprano) performs with Phantasm © The Wigmore Hall Trust, 2024

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The Met’s 2023 Nabucco cast – and conductor – act as a timely reminder of the work’s stature

United StatesUnited States Verdi, Nabucco: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / Daniele Callegari (conductor). Transmitted live (directed by Habib Azar) from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, to London’s Barbican Cinema, 6.1.2024. (CC)

George Gagnidze (centre on steps as Nabucco) © Marty Sohl/Met Opera

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Mozart being Mozart, Britten Sinfonia’s Messiah at the Barbican Hall had its own appeal,

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Handel (arr, Mozart & Jonathan Manners), Messiah, HWV 56 / K 572 (sung in English): Hilary Cronin (soprano), Helen Charlston (alto), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Morgan Pearse (bass), BBC Singers, Britten Sinfonia / Sofi Jeannin (conductor). Barbican Hall, 12.12.2023. (CC)

Sofi Jeannin conducts the Britten Sinfonia and the BBC Singers

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An abridged Messiah was another terrific evening from Laurence Equilbey, her choir and orchestra

FranceFrance Handel, Messiah (abridged): Marie Lys (soprano), Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian (countertenor), Stuart Jackson (tenor), Alex Rosen (bass), accentus, Insula Orchestra / Laurence Equilbey (conductor). Auditorium Patrick Devedjian, La Seine Musicale, Paris, 5.12.2023. (CC)

Laurence Equilbey conducts accentus and the Insula Orchestra

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