London

Weill away your time with the Royal Opera’s thought-provoking The Seven Deadly Sins and Mahagonny Songspiel

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins and Mahagonny Songspiel: Soloists, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Michael Papadopoulos (conductor). Livestreamed (directed by Peter Jones) from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 9.4.2021. (JPr)

Stephanie Wake-Edwards (Anna I) and Jonadette Carpio (Anna II)
in The Seven Deadly Sins (c) Ellie Kurttz

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A glorious recital by Benjamin Grosvenor opens the Live from the Barbican spring/summer 2021 series

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Schubert/Liszt, Chopin, Ginastera, Ravel: Benjamin Grosvenor (piano) with Lucy Parham (presenter). Livestreamed from the Barbican Hall, London (click here), 10.3.2021. (CC)

Benjamin Grosvenor (piano) (c) Mark Allan/Barbican

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Brian Elias: Wigmore Hall Retrospective to be livestreamed from London’s Wigmore Hall on 24 April 2021

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BRIAN ELIAS:  WIGMORE HALL RETROSPECTIVE SATURDAY 24 APRIL 2021, 11.30AM & 3PM Livestreamed on Wigmore Hall YouTube  Available on demand for 30 days  ‘Though Elias writes little…what he produces is immaculately achieved. Every inflection tells, the balance of sound is exact, and the sound seductive in the best traditions of glamorous 20th century orchestral writing.’ … Read more

This Bach B minor Mass is arguably VOCES8’s finest achievement to date

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom LIVE From London Spring – Bach’s Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Carolyn Sampson, Eleonore Cockerham (sopranos), Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Jeremy Budd (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass-baritone), Rachel Podger (guest leader). Academy of Ancient Music / Barnaby Smith (conductor). Church of St Bartholomew the Great, London, 4.2.2021, and streamed 5.4.2021. (CC)

Bach’s B minor Mass in London’s Church of St Bartholomew the Great
(c) Colin Steen

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Socially distanced televised Messiah from English National Opera suggests spring and hope are in the air

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Handel, Messiah, HWV 56: Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano), Nadine Benjamin (soprano), Iestyn Davies (countertenor), John Findon (tenor), Anthony Gregory (tenor), William Thomas (bass), Nardus Williams (soprano) and Benson Wilson (baritone), Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera / Laurence Cummings (harpsichord/conductor). Broadcast on BBC Two, 3.4.2021. (JPr)

Laurence Cummings conducts the ENO Orchestra © Tristram Kenton

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VOCES8’s Fauré, Bach, Barber – and Elgar – Cadogan Hall concert is warming, consoling and beautiful

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom LIVE From London Spring – Fauré, Bach, Barber: Andrea Haines (soprano), Jonathan Pacey (bass), VOCES8, English Chamber Orchestra / Barnaby Smith (conductor). Streamed from the Cadogan Hall, London, 2.4.2021. (CC)

VOCES8, English Chamber Orchestra and Barnaby Smith (conductor)

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English Touring Opera announce 2021 digital season on ETO at Home

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Easter Sunday: St John Passion
and Documentary on Freelance Opera Artists in Lockdown

On Easter Sunday, ETO will launch its 2021 digital season on ETO at Home, the company’s new streaming platform.

The platform will be launched with the Spring 2020 production of Bach’s St John Passion. The performance was recorded on the 5th of March 2020 at Hackney Empire before ETO’s Spring 2020 tour was cancelled. The film weaves together footage of the live performance with 90 individual video contributions made by choir members in isolation from Cumbria to Cornwall who were due to participate in performances across the country.

ETO’s St John Passion

The Passion will be accompanied by a 10-minute documentary exploring the lives of the production’s singers and musicians in the year since the performance. Both films will be free to access.

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