Royal Opera House news updates 2022 – special fundraising concerts and stream for Ukraine

On stage, on screen and in your home

The Royal Opera House has unveiled a series of fundraising initiatives in support of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

On Good Friday 15 April 2022, at 4.30pm, Ukrainian Oksana Lyniv joins Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano on the podium to conduct The Royal Opera – Concert for Ukraine with an international roster of artists including Ukrainian tenor Dmytro Popov, Ukrainian baritone Yuriy Yurchuk, South African soprano Pretty Yende, and British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso. Current Jette Parker Young Artists (JPYA) also perform alongside members of the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Tickets will range from £4 to £100.

From Friday 22 April 2022, audiences can watch Crystal Pite’s critically acclaimed and multi-award winning Flight Pattern online thanks to streaming platform Vimeo, who are waiving all fees. Created in 2017 in response to the refugee crisis, Flight Pattern remains powerfully resonant – a poignant reminder of the frailty of the human condition and the tension between despair and hope. The stream costs £7 but additional donations are encouraged. It will be available on demand for 30 days.

On Thursday 5 May 2022, at 7.30pm, The Royal Ballet presents an additional and very special fundraising performance of Swan Lake. In a Company first, Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Lauren CuthbertsonSarah LambMarianela Nuñez and Natalia Osipova join forces to share the role of Odette/Odile across the four acts of this iconic repertory favourite. Tickets range from £10 to £200.

Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Alex Beard, said: Everyone at ROH is deeply shocked and appalled by the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion. I hope these special performances and stream by the ROH community of artists from across the world can help raise much-needed funds to support the humanitarian work of the Disasters Emergency Committee.’

These special performances follow actions the ROH has taken alongside others in the UK and international arts sector in response to the invasion of Ukraine. In addition to cancelling the Bolshoi’s planned visit this summer, these include symbolic acts of solidarity such as lighting our Covent Garden home in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, playing the Ukrainian national anthem before performances, and sharing a special recording of the Ukrainian hymn Prayer for Ukraine (with music by Mykola Lysenko and text by Oleksandr Konysky arranged by Anna Lapwood), performed by members of The Royal Opera Chorus.  A number of Royal Ballet dancers also took part in the Dance for Ukraine gala on Saturday 19 March 2022 at the London Coliseum.

For booking details, please visit our CLICK HERE.

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Waterperry Opera Festival 2022

WATERPERRY OPERA FESTIVAL: Waterperry House and Gardens, Waterperry, Oxfordshire, OX33 1JZ – Friday 12th August–Saturday 20th August 2022

This year Waterperry Opera Festival is celebrating its fifth anniversary with an innovative eight-day open-air festival in August 2022, that will not disappoint. Their programme will include an impressive eight productions, as well as a variety of talks, workshops, and more. Taking advantage of Waterperry’s extensive historic grounds, the festival will build on the experiences of the past four years to produce their finest festival yet.

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Bampton Classical Opera 2022

BAMPTON CLASSICAL OPERA 2022 – F J Haydn ‘Fool Moon’ (Il mondo della luna)

Performances:
The Deanery Garden, Bampton, Oxfordshire: Friday 22, Saturday 23 July
Westonbirt School, Glos: Monday 29 August
St John’s Smith Square, London: Friday 16 September

Libretto: Carlo Goldoni
English Translation: Gilly French
Director/Designer: Jeremy Gray
Conductor: Thomas Blunt
Orchestra of Bampton Classical Opera (Bampton, Westonbirt)
CHROMA (St John’s Smith Square)

Bampton Classical Opera’s summer 2022 production will be Haydn’s Il mondo della luna. This three act dramma giocosa from 1777 is the best-known of several operatic settings during the second half of the century of a delightfully crazy libretto by Carlo Goldoni.  As Mozart was to do later with Così fan tutte, Haydn was inspired by a bizarre plot of disguise and deception to create a score of ravishing beauty and wit.  How better to persuade an over-protective but gullible father to allow the marriages of his daughters than to persuade him that he has been transported to the moon?

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Choir of Merton College Oxford’s Passiontide at Merton festival returns from 8 to 10 April 2022

Once More, With Passion

Award-winning Choir of Merton College Oxford marks return of Passiontide at Merton festival (8-10 April 2022) with compelling programme of music ancient and modern

Highlights include Mozart’s Mass in C minor, world premieres of works by Francis Grier, recent compositions by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Judith Bingham and James MacMillan, and sublime sacred polyphony by Gesualdo, Tallis, Byrd and Lassus

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The Metropolitan Opera in 2022-23

The Metropolitan Opera announces the most new productions in ten seasons, featuring the world-premiere staging of The Hours, the company premieres of Champion and Medea, and four more: FedoraLohengrinDon Giovanni, and Die Zauberflöte.

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct The Hours, LohengrinChampion, and La bohème

The roster of artists includes Roberto Alagna, Piotr Beczała, Angel Blue, Javier Camarena, Lise Davidsen, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Ryan Speedo Green, Kelli O’Hara, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Sonya Yoncheva, and more

Debuting conductors include Manfred Honeck, Nathalie Stutzmann, and Jaap van Zweden

Ten operas will be transmitted live to cinemas across the globe as part of The Met: Live in HD series

FOR MORE ABOUT THE 2022-23 SEASON CLICK HERE

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R.I.P. BERNARD JACOBSON (1936-2022)

Bernard Jacobsen (right) with Andrzej Panufnik

London-born Bernard Jacobsen was a long-time contributor to MusicWeb International (where a 2006 biography can be found by clicking here), as well as Seen and Heard International and we are deeply saddened by news of his passing. We send our condolesences to his wife Laura and their family in the hope they will remember all the happier times with Bernard during these sad days. 

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Ballet Icons 2022 celebrates Sergei Diaghilev’s 150th on 13 March at the London Coliseum

ENSEMBLE PRODUCTIONS PRESENT BALLET ICONS GALA 2022 A superb evening of world class ballet – CELEBRATING 150th ANNIVERSARY OF SERGEI DIAGHILEV On Sunday 13 March 2022 at the LONDON COLISEUM at 7pm NOW CANCELLED The annual BALLET ICONS GALA, presented by Ensemble Productions, celebrates the 150th anniversary of Sergei Diaghilev, the legendary creator of the … Read more