Festival 2024

This Aix-en-Provence production quietly, powerfully rethought and reimagined Madama Butterfly

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FranceFrance Festival d’Aix-en-Provence [1] – Puccini, Madama Butterfly: Soloists, Lyon Opera Chorus (chorus master: Benedict Kearns), Lyon Opera Orchestra / Daniele Rustoni (conductor). Théâtre de l’Archeveché, Aix-en-Provence, 8.7.2024. (MB)

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024: Madama Butterfly © Ruth Walz

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An uplifting, small-scale production of The Boatswain’s Mate at Buxton was a real treat

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Buxton International Festival 2024 [1] – Ethel Smyth, The Boatswain’s Mate: Soloists, Chorus and Instrumental Trio / Rebecca Warren (direction). Buxton International Festival, Pavilion Arts Centre, Derbyshire, 8.7.2024. (MC)

[l-r] Rebecca Warren (piano), Elizabeth Findon (Mrs Waters) and Theo Perry (Ned Travers) © Genevieve Girling

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A delightful performance of The Fairy Queen by the Armonico Consort and Players in Thaxted

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Thaxted Festival 2024 [3] – Purcell, The Fairy Queen, Z 629: Oz Clarke (narrator), Eloise Irving, Hannah Fraser Mackenzie, Laura Moretto (sopranos), William Towers (alto), Matthew Pochin (tenor), Robert Davies (bass), Armonico Consort & Baroque Players / Christopher Monks (harpsichord / director). Thaxted Parish Church, 6.7.2024. (CC)

Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at the Thaxted Festival 2024

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A delightful, poignant and thought-provoking Penarth lunchtime Schubertiade

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Penarth Chamber Music Festival – Schubert: Katharine Dain (soprano), James Gilchrist (tenor), Ben Goldscheider (horn), Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano), Ágnes Langer (violin), Robert Plane (clarinet). Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, 29.6.2024. (GPu)

James Gilchrist

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Bach, birdsong and bacon butties: an early start to the Romsey Chamber Music Festival 2024

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Various – Romsey Chamber Music Festival 2024 [1]: Sophia Jin (soprano), Thomas Guthrie (baritone), Imogen Whitehead (trumpet), Laura Rickard, Emma Roijackers, Luke Hsu (violin), José Nunes, Joseph Griffin, Coby Mendez (viola), Rainer Crosett, Lydia Hillerudh (cello), James Trowbridge (double bass), Johan Löfving (guitar), Jennifer Walsh, Michael Cohen-Weissert, Caspar Vos (piano). Houghton Lodge Gardens, Romsey Abbey, St. Mark’s Church, Ampfield, United Reformed Church, Romsey, 24-30.6.2024. (CK)

Thursday evening concert (27.6)  at the Romsey Chamber Music Festival 2024

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Garsington Opera’s impressively alert Un giorno di regno should keep you amused and absorbed

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Garsington Opera 2024 [4] – Verdi, Un giorno di regno: Soloists, Garsington Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Chris Hopkins (conductor). Garsington Opera at Wormsley, 1.7.2024. (CR)

Christine Rice as La Marchesa del Poggio © Julian Guidera

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