Festivals

The 2025 Three Choirs Festival premieres Richard Blackford’s The Black Lake 

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom 2025 Three Choirs Festival [2] – Pärt, Elgar, Britten, Blackford: Elizabeth Watts (soprano), Betsan Llwyd (narrator), Steffan Rhodri (narrator), Three Choirs Festival Chorus, BBC National Orchestra of Wales / David Hill (conductor). Hereford Cathedral, 27.7.2025. (JQ)

Soprano Elizabeth Watts, narrators Betsan Llwyd and Steffan Rhodri, conductor David Hill, Three Choirs Festival Chorus and BBC NOW © Dave Hodgetts

Read more

Fine revival of an important work by William Mathias at the 2025 Three Choirs Festival

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom 2025 Three Choirs Festival [1] – Smyth, Dvořák, Mathias: Eleanor Dennis (soprano), James Oxley (tenor), Malachy Frame (baritone), Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Hereford Cathedral Choristers, Philharmonia Orchestra / Geraint Bowen (conductor). Hereford Cathedral, 26.7.2025. (JQ)

Geraint Bowen conducts the Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, soprano Eleanor Dennis and baritone Malachy Frame © Dale Hodgetts

Read more

SCO’s energising Beethoven, fun Rameau but the Saint-Saëns and Capperauld stood out at the Proms

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [5] – Beethoven’s Fifth: Alexandre Kantorow (piano), Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor/drum). Royal Albert Hall, London, 25.7.2025. (CC)

Maxim Emelyanychev conducts pianist Alexandre Kantorow and the SCO © BBC/Mark Allan

Read more

A fine and enjoyable Prom from Sakari Oramo and the BBC SO

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [4] – Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, Davis, and R. Strauss: Augustin Hadelich (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 24.7.2025. (MB)

Sakari Oromo conducts violinist Augustin Hadelich and the BBC SO in Mendelssohn © BBC/Mark Allan

Read more

Freddie De Tommaso’s confident role debut and Bryn Terfel’s masterclass in Verbier’s Puccini double bill

by

SwitzerlandSwitzerland Verbier Festival 2025 – Puccini, Gianni Schicchi, Mascagni, Cavalleria rusticana (concert performances): Soloists, Oberwalliser Vokalensemble choir, Verbier Festival Orchestra / Andrea Battistoni (conductor), Johanna Vaude (video art). Broadcast live from Salle des Combins, Verbier, Switzerland, 24.7.2025 and available on medici.tv. (JPr) Updated review.

Sungho Kim (Rinuccio), Ying Fang (Lauretta) and Sir Bryn Terfel (Gianni Schicchi)

Read more

From Bruch to Beethoven: Verão Clássico’s artists illuminate the art of chamber music

by

PortugalPortugal Verão Clássico Festival 2025 [1] – Various: Anna Samuil (soprano), Stephan Picard, Lena Neudauer (violins), Muriel Razavi (viola), Gary Hoffman (cello), Alexandra Scott (double bass), Milana Chernyavska, Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro (piano). Centro Cultural de Belém, Pequeno Auditório, Lisbon, 23.7.2025. (LV)

Anna Samuil singing Dvořák at the Verão Clássico © Andreia Carvalho

Read more