Norwich Opera Club: AGM and Orfeo, Monteverdi
Tonight’s programme: Annual General Meeting of Norwich Opera Club followed by a screening of Monteverdi’s Orfeo (DVD presented by Kay Sanderson). Norwich Opera Club is a sociable, informal gathering of…
Surprises aplenty from I Fagiolini: Monteverdi’s other Vespers
I Fagiolini‘s very interesting programme of music by Monteverdi and his contemporaries pulls together a wide range of works, but somehow lacks an ensemble feel. These “Other Vespers” are not…
Songs for a mad emperor: Sarah Toth’s Nero Monologues
Sarah Toth’s Nero Monologues is a pastiche opera, or pasticcio: this is a recognised form of opera making, used by Handel among others, where rather than writing an entirely fresh…
Monteverdi’s Poppea, Hampstead Garden Opera
If you turned on BBC Radio 3 for more than 20 mins over the weekend, you might have noticed that we are joyously celebrating the 450th anniversary of Claudio Monteverdi,…
A welcome return: Monteverdi’s Ulysses’ Homecoming, English Touring Opera
Saffron Hall, East Anglia’s brightest new star venue on the classical music horizon, is moving with confidence into direct competition with Snape Maltings. Their first fully staged opera, English Touring Opera’s…
Prom 25: Monteverdi’s Orfeo forever fresh in Gardiner’s hands
For over 20 years the Gonzagas paid him late, ignored his personal tragedies, and treated him in all practical terms with cruel contempt. Monteverdi, nevertheless, created extraordinary music in the…
Love conquers all, kills some, exiles others: Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea at Grimeborn
Ryedale Festival Opera’s version, in a clear and lyrical new translation by John Warrack, absolutely understands Monteverdi’s sophisticated agenda: and, with a talented cast in director Nina Brazier’s capable hands,…