Opera in english
The Stage. 12 April 2019 Does the old argument about the merits of opera in the original language versus in translation still need to be fought? It certainly isn’t going …
Opera’s new voices: 10 composers making overtures to greatness
The Guardian, 15 February 2016 The Opera Guide is the first opera reference book compiled solely for publication online. At last reference books can be kept up-to-date, and this concise …
LARGO AL FACTOTUM – The Translator
LARGO AL FACTOTUM – The Translator I never expected to work in opera, though I first saw one in 1955 – performed in English at Covent Garden. Then in 1985 …
The Birth of the Third
This article was commissioned by Boosey & Hawkes for publication in their annual pocket Music Diary for 1996. AH The Birth of the Third 29th September 1946 was a major …
Words for Music
This article appeared in MAGMA POETRY, issue 58, published in spring 2014 WORDS FOR MUSIC When we talk, or listen to speech, the process is involuntary and entirely natural. At …
Mark Wigglesworth
Mark Wigglesworth OPERA May 2003, pp.530-535 PEOPLE: 295 Mark Wigglesworth is happy that he’s been invited to conduct, not one but two productions, at Glyndebourne this summer – La Bohème …
I wish I’d been there
I wish I’d been there Friday 12 July 1946 Packed a hamper – potted-shrimp sandwiches (white sliced), gulls eggs (!) and ginger pop… Took the train to Lewes from Victoria …
On Opera Guides
From Where I Sit Like any reference book, the New Penguin Opera Guide is of its time. Here in my study I have three editions of Grove: my grandmother’s copy …
Garden Opera in Kenya
Garden Opera in Kenya Day one: Heathrow: several huge trolleys glide towards me piled up with crates and boxes. The Garden Opera Company – seven singers, five players, two stage …
Mark Elder
MARK ELDER talks to AMANDA HOLDEN about BERLIOZ In mounting a new production of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust, ENO is returning to one of the works that shaped the …