Festivals

Glorious Proms Fairy Queen delivered by excellent musicians and singers, and astonishing break dancers

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom PROM 24 – Purcell, The Fairy Queen: Le Jardin des Voix, Compagnie Käfig, Les Arts Florissants / Paul Agnew (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 6.8.2024. (AK)

Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at the Proms © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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Suk’s ‘Asrael’ symphony brings the Bamberger Symphoniker’s residency in Edinburgh to a spectacular close

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Edinburgh International Festival 2024 [6] – Dvořák, Suk: Kateřina Knĕžíkova (soprano), Adam Plachetka (bass-baritone), Edinburgh Festival Chorus (director: James Grossmith), Bamberger Symphoniker /Jakub Hrůša (conductor). Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 9.8.2024. (GT)

Jakub Hrůša with the Bamberger Symphoniker in the Usher Hall © Andrew Perry

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Breathing life into Beethoven: a thrilling Triple Concerto and vibrant Fourth Symphony at Tanglewood

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United StatesUnited States Tanglewood Festival 2024 [10] – Beethoven: Kirill Gerstein (piano), Joshua Bell (violin), Steven Isserlis (cello), Boston Symphony Orchestra / Alan Gilbert (conductor). Koussevitzky Shed, Lenox, 4.8.2024. (CSa)

Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, and Kirill Gerstein perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto at Tanglewood © Hilary Scott

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The storytelling impresses in Amy Lane’s (mostly) straightforward new Longborough Die Walküre

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Longborough Festival Opera [3] – Wagner, Die Walküre: Soloists, Long borough Festival Orchestra / Anthony Negus (conductor). Recorded at Loughborough (directed by Matthew Dilley) on 26.6.2024 and available on OperaVision and YouTube until 9.2.2025. (JPr)

Paul Carey Jones (Wotan) and Madeleine Shaw (Fricka) © Matthew Williams-Ellis

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More diverse Queen’s Hall music at the EIF from Raphaël Feuillâtre and Stephan Dohr (and friends)

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Edinburgh International Festival 2024 [5]: Raphaël Feuillâtre (guitar, 9.8), Stephan Dohr (horn, 10.8), Carolin Widmann (violin, 10.8), Dénes Várjon (piano, 10.8). Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 9 & 10.8.2024. (SRT)

Guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre © Stefan Hoederath

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Consolation and utter serenity from Ton Koopman’s magnificent performance of the St John Passion

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FranceFrance Itinéraire Baroque en Périgord, 2024 [5] – Bach, Johannes-Passion, BWV 245 (1724): Amelia Berridge (soprano), Sophia Faltas (mezzo-soprano), Tilman Lichdi (tenor), Klaus Mertens (bass), Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir / Ton Koopman (conductor / harpsichord). Église de Saint-Astier, Dordogne, France. 4.8.2024. (CC)

Klaus Mertens (bass) and Ton Koopman (harpsichord) © Jean-Michel Bale

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Andreas Homoki’s Carmen returns full circle to Paris’s Opéra-Comique at the EIF

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Edinburgh International Festival 2024 [4]: Bizet, Carmen: Soloists, Accentus, Maitrise Populaire de l’Opéra-Comique, Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Louis Langrée (conductor), Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 8.8.2024 (SRT)

Opéra-Comique’s Carmen: the smugglers’ quintet © Andrew Perry

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