Mariinsky Theatre announces its opera and ballet for 2021-22

Opening of the 239th season of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg

Last season most performing companies including the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Companies staged season-long series of both opera and ballet across their performance stages. Today the Mariinsky boasts no less than four stages, two for opera and ballet and two concert halls. Last season, the performances were well attended and there is no reason not to expect full audiences in the forthcoming 239th season.

The Maid of Orleans © Alexander Neff

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Glyndebourne announces their operas and casts for 2022

Glyndebourne Festival 2022

Glyndebourne was determined to proceed with its 2021 Festival and chose to invest in a significantly loss-making event in order to provide vital work for staff and freelancers and to stay connected to audiences. This necessitated changes to its original programme and normal working practices in order to accommodate social distancing measures. Among the adaptations were reduced orchestrations and choruses, performing company bubbles and regular testing of performers and staff.

Despite the challenges, the company successfully presented five operas, including three new socially distanced productions from international creative teams – Káťa Kabanová, Il turco in Italia and Luisa Miller – a semin-staging of Tristan und Isolde and a concert series featuring the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (read reviews on Seen and Heard).

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Emerging Dancer: A Celebration and English National Ballet in 2021/22

English National Ballet’s New Season

Recent updates as rehearsals for English National Ballet’s 2021-2022 Season begin.

Emerging Dancer: A Celebration – 9 September 2021

Whilst a reduction in live performance has made it impossible to select Emerging Dancer finalists and People’s Choice Award winners this year, English National Ballet continues to recognise the excellence of its Artists with Emerging Dancer: A Celebration. This special event features performances from previous winners and will be live streamed on YouTube and the ENB at Home platform from the Holloway Production Studio in the company’s east London home, the Mulryan Centre for Dance, on (please note new date)  9 September 2021.

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20th Oxford Lieder Festival – 8 to 23 October 2021

Nature’s Songbook – 20th Oxford Lieder Festival from 8 to 23 October 2021 

  • Oxford Lieder, the UK’s biggest festival of song, marks its 20th year with its most ambitious programme to date, featuring more than 100 events, both in-person and livestreamed
  • 20 new works will be premiered across the 20th-anniversary season, including five major song cycles
  • World-class singers and pianists, alongside emerging stars, take to the stage for song recitals, complemented by piano, chamber and choral works
  • An extensive series of Song Connections events forges links between music, poetry, nature, art, language and science, ensuring multiple access points to the world of song
  • A flexible range of ticket prices starting at just £3 for online streaming access, with a choice of discounts & concessionary rates, makes the Festival accessible to all.

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The San Diego Symphony’s Rady Shell at Jacobs Park is open for music lovers and those who just want a great view

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park is the first permanent open-air performance venue in the San Diego Symphony’s century-long history. With world-class acoustics, video screens and broadband streaming capabilities, this state-of-the-art facility is designed to host more than a hundred concerts and events annually. It is situated in the 3.7-acre Jacobs Park on the city’s … Read more

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2021/22

CBSO announces September 2021 – January 2022 season

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) returns to its full strength and range of activities this autumn, sharing the talents and ambition of the entire CBSO family of ensembles with audiences in its home city and beyond. From large-scale symphonies at Symphony Hall, a B:Music venue, and unplugged gigs in Hockley Social Club to workshops in schools, the orchestra will offer communities throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands the crucial opportunity to re-engage with live music and culture this autumn.

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