Making the case for cultural freedom with their instruments, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra at the Proms

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2022 [13], Prom 19a – Silvestrov, Chopin, Beethoven, Brahms: Anna Fedorova (piano), Liudmyla Monastyrska (soprano), Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra / Keri-Lynn Wilson (conductor). Recorded (directed by ) at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 31.7.2022. Available on BBC iPlayer. (JPr)

The Ukranian Freedom Orchestra conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson  © Mark Allan/BBC

Read more

Water flows through an otherwise oddly programmed Prom from Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2022 [10], Prom 19: Dukas, Respighi, Puccini: Soloists, Philharmonia Voices, Hallé / Sir Mark Elder (conductor). Recorded (directed by Helen Mansfield) at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 30.7.2022. It is currently available on BBC iPlayer. (JPr)

Sir Mark Elder © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

Read more

Doreen Carwithen, Grace Williams and Vaughan Williams look out to sea at the BBC Proms

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2022 [9], Prom 16 – Doreen Carwithen, Grace Williams, Vaughan Williams: Elizabeth Llewellyn (soprano), Jacques Imbrailo (baritone), BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC National Chorus and Orchestra of Wales / Andrew Manze (conductor). Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London, (directed by Rhodri Huw) and now available on BBC iPlayer, 27.7.2022. (JPr)

Elizabeth Llewellyn (soprano) and Jacques Imbrailo (baritone) singing in A Sea Symphony © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

Read more

Daniel Kramer’s kaleidoscopic, futuristic, dystopian reimagining of Turandot in Geneva

SwitzerlandSwitzerland Puccini, Turandot: Grand Théâtre de Genève Chorus, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Antonino Fogliani (conductor). Recorded (directed by Jérémie Cuvillier) at Grand Théâtre de Genève, 22.6.2022 and available on OperaVision until 22.1.2023. (JPr)

Ingela Brimberg (Turandot) and Teodor Ilincăi (Calaf) © Magali Dougados

Read more

Jodie Comer triumphs in Prima Facie and is one of the outstanding stage actors of her generation

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie: Recorded (directed for the screen by Matthew Amos) at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre and broadcast by NT Live to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 21.7.2022. (JPr)

Jodie Comer as Tessa in Prima Facie © Helen Murray

Read more

ASMF’s A London Dream is a must-see evocative mix of Mendelssohn, Shakespeare, dance and sight-seeing

A London Dream: a film from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields premiered on Sky Arts, 21.6.2022. (JPr) Standing on the Southbank of the River Thames Zakia Sewell introduced A London Dream – a film featuring the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, as well as the city that is its home … Read more

Despite fine musical performances, Brett Dean’s Hamlet from the Met fails to appeal  

United StatesUnited States Brett Dean, Hamlet: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / Nicholas Carter (conductor), Broadcast Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, to the Dundonald Omniplex, Belfast, 4.6.2022. (RB)

(Back l-r) Dame Sarah Connolly (Gertrude); Rod Gilfry (Claudius), William Burden (Polonius) and Brenda Rae (Ophelia) © Karen Almond / Met Opera

Read more

Mission Commission: demystifying the art of creating music at the source

United StatesUnited States Bettison, Iyer, Soper, Mission Commission Season Two: Kate Soper (vocalist/narrator), Vijay Iyer (piano), Parker Quartet, Melissa Smey (host), Golda Arthur (producer). Podcasts from Miller Theater at Columbia University, New York, 19.4-24.5,2022. (RP)

Vijay Iyer, Kate Soper & Oscar Bettison © Miller Theater

Read more