SINCE 1999 A LIVE REVIEW SITE FOR OPERA, BALLET, CONCERTS, THEATRE , BROADCASTS AND FILMS
Readers of the London Review of Books have recently been reminded of the incomparable importance of Brigid Brophy (1929-1995), born of Irish parents in Ealing, West London, sometimes called Lady Levey, since her happy husband, Sir Michael Levey, who was Director of the National Gallery, gave up his posting to look after her in her final illness of multiple sclerosis, following her many lesbian affairs, with among others, Iris Murdock.
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA APPOINTS SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO AS ITS CHIEF CONDUCTOR
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) has announced the appointment of Sir Antonio Pappano as its Chief Conductor from September 2024, becoming Chief Conductor Designate in September 2023. He steps down from his post as Music Director of the Royal Opera House at the end July 2024. Sir Antonio will conduct the Orchestra in its annual London Barbican Season, where it is Resident Orchestra, and on national and international tours. For more information about LSO click here.
LET’S DANCE INTERNATIONAL FRONTIERS 2021
SOCIALLY ENGAGED ART: CAN DANCE CHANGE THE WORLD?
29 APRIL TO 8 MAY – FEATURING 11 DAYS OF OUTDOOR AND ONLINE EVENTS
Annual festival features online performances, discussions, workshops and a conference exploring dance as a medium for positive change.
Online Colonisation in Reverse: Jean-Léon Destiné Exhibition featuring archival materials, some of which have never been presented in public before.
Performances from BOP Jazz Theatre Company and Dani Walter-Harris, Paris Crossley and Fubunation streamed from Curve Leicester.
Online conference Creating Socially Engaged Art: Can Dance Change the World? highlighting the impact that Black communities have made to the international dance ecology.
LDIF+ masterclasses will take place in person in June.
For online tickets and information CLICK HERE.
Pianist Lisa Maria Schachtschneider in conversation with Gregor Tassie ‘The female in music is my contribution on the way to equality’ is the heading for the young German pianist Lisa Maria Schachtschneider’s debut recording. Through neglect and ignorance, the question of women in music is a perennial problem to overcome and is exacerbated by recent … Read more
St Mary’s Perivale in the pandemic
A brief resume of the past eventful 12 months by Hugh Mather
Our next concert, on 16 March 2021 (click here), will be our 100th LIVE pandemic concert – probably more than any other UK venue. Huge credit to our technical team, led by Simon Shute (right) and George Auckland (left), who have made it all possible. Here is the story of the past extraordinary 12 months.
English National Opera announces new staging of Wagner’s Ring cycle
Directed by Richard Jones and conducted by Martyn Brabbins, The Valkyrie will form the first part of a complete Ring cycle over the next five years.
English National Opera (ENO) is to bring Wagner’s Ring cycle to the London Coliseum, starting with The Valkyrie this Autumn, subject to any further lockdown restrictions. Directed by the award-winning Richard Jones, and marking the first time in more than 15 years since ENO last staged The Ring, all four parts of The Ring cycle will be staged at the London Coliseum over five years. Rhinegold will premiere in 2022/23 followed by a reprise of The Valkyrie, and new productions of Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods in 2024 and 2025 consecutively. The Metropolitan Opera is co-producing.
San Francisco Opera’s Ring Festival
There is nothing in music quite like a Ring Festival. As with a cricket test match or a baseball World Series, the four-day sequence of Wagner operas stands as a pinnacle of the form, draws the attention of aficionados from near and far, and often plays out with ancillary events that broaden the scope beyond the main affair.
San Francisco Opera announced plans on 16 February to stream videos of its excellent 2018 Der Ring des Nibelungen on four weekends in March, along with a new set of lectures, interviews and panel discussions on Zoom. Similar to events that were presented with the series when it was mounted in 2018, these live sidebars focus on individuals from the cast and creative team.
This season was to be a celebration of Christopher Hahn’s twentieth anniversary with the Pittsburgh Opera. It was, but not as anyone could possibly have imagined a year ago. Hahn was appointed General Director of the Pittsburgh Opera in 2008, having served as Artistic Director since 2000. During his tenure, the company has been transformed. … Read more