London

Sir Antonio Pappano The Royal Opera’s first Conductor Laureate

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Sir Antonio Pappano becomes first Conductor Laureate of The Royal Opera   Following a magnificent 22-year tenure as Music Director, Sir Antonio Pappano today becomes the first Conductor Laureate of The Royal Opera, effective immediately. The title recognises his incredible legacy as the longest serving Music Director in Covent Garden history, conducting over 700 performances from … Read more

Janáček’s astonishing Mr Brouček gets a wonderful performance from Rattle, soloists, Tenebrae and LSO

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Janáček, The Excursions of Mr Brouček (‘Výlety páně Broučkovy’, concert performance): Soloists, Tenebrae; London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle (conductor). Barbican Hall, London, 4.5.2025 (CC)

The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in The Excursions of Mr Brouček © Mark Allan/LSO

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LPO’s Ravel packs a punch and says hello to the circus

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ravel: Circa (Yaron Lifschitz [artistic director, stage and lighting designer], Libby McDonnell [costume designer]), BBC Singers, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Edward Gardner (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London. 23.4.2025. (CSa)

Acrobats of Circa performing with the London Philharmonic Orchestra © Pete Woodhead

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Raffaello Morales, Farringdon’s Renaissance man talks to Christopher Sallon

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Fidelio Café’s Raffaello Morales in conversation with Christopher Sallon

Fidelio Café

‘It’s an amazing coincidence!’ exclaims Raffaello Morales, the 37- year-old, Italian-born owner, manager, conductor, and musical entrepreneur behind the Fidelio Café. From the small first floor office of his Farringdon premises, he points towards a small house located just across the road dedicated to the nineteenth-century Italian patriot, exile and father of the Risorgimento Giuseppe Mazzini. Morales regards Mazzini as an inspirational figure. Although these two men are separated by more than a century (Mazzini died in 1872 and Morales was born in 1987), there are uncanny coincidences which link them, beyond mere nationality and their connection to ‘Little Italy’, as this area of Clerkenwell is still known.

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Mahler 8 at the Royal Festival Hall fails to overwhelm because of video and other distractions

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Mahler: Soloists, Tiffin Boys’ Choir (director: James Day), London Philharmonic Choir (artistic director: Neville Creed), London Symphony Chorus (chorus director: Mariana Rosas), London Philharmonic Orchestra / Edward Gardner (conductor), Royal Festival Hall, London, 26.4.2025. (JR)

Edward Gardner conducts Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall © Mark Allan/LPO

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