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The master list of news, features and interviews
Leeds Song Festival announces 2026 programme
Leeds Song Festival returns from Saturday 11 April to Saturday 18 April 2026, bringing together some of the world’s most captivating voices, inspiring musicians, cutting-edge creators, and rising stars for a packed week-long celebration of art song.
Alexander Neef, Director General of the Paris Opera, announces the appointment of Semyon Bychkov as Music Director, effective 1 August 2028, for four seasons.
From 1 August 2026, Semyon Bychkov will accompany the musical ensembles of the Paris National Opera as Appointed Music Director.
A leading figure on the international music scene, Semyon Bychkov is renowned for his mastery of both the symphonic and operatic repertoires and for the importance he attaches to the dialogue between orchestra, voices and stage. His appointment marks a new chapter in the artistic project of the Paris Opera, under the direction of Alexander Neef.
English Touring Opera present debut production of Gilbert And Sullivan’s The Gondoliers alongside Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci for Spring 2026
New opera for children – Ada and the Code Crusaders – to reach thousands of students across the country
Visiting: Sheffield, Cheltenham, London, Buxton, Norwich, Chester, Canterbury, Cambridge, Truro, and Durham from 20 March – 21 May 2026
BALLET ICONS GALA at the London Coliseum – 15 February 2026, 7pm
BALLET ICONS GALA 2026 celebrates 20 years at the London Coliseum with a dazzling anniversary tribute to the art of ballet honouring distinguished ballet personalities and bringing awareness to the environmental crisis
Celebrate the magic of live ballet – tickets are available through the London Coliseum website here or via the London Coliseum box office.
Gregor Tassie talks to visual artist Grégoire Pont
One of the unexpected highlights of the George Enescu International Festival was a Sunday matinee concert of French music for children at the charming Odeon Hall (review here). If the music by Poulenc and Ravel was well known, the artwork by the French illustrator Grégoire Pont was a pleasant surprise.
Elgar’s choral masterpiece
Firmly rooted in the belief that The Kingdom is the greatest of Elgar’s oratorios, David Temple, Music Director of Crouch End Festival Chorus and Hertfordshire Chorus, has long been a champion of the work. With its beautiful, gentle conversational sections, astonishing dramatic passages, iridescent colours and some of Elgar’s finest orchestral writing, Temple believes that ‘it is a gem from the first note to the last’.
The two choirs, under Temple, will join forces with soloists Francesca Chiejina, Dame Sarah Connolly, Benjamin Hulett and James Platt for a performance at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 29 January 2026.
‘A born artist. Everything he touches transforms into something new’
The prestigious Concertgebouw Prize will be presented on 16 March 2026 to the Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer
