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Format: 2013-05-18
Format: 2013-05-18
  • Tue, 2013-05-21 19:30
    Donizetti's The Siege of Calais | English Touring Opera
    Adam Tunnicliffe, Andrew Glover, Brendan Collins, Cozmin Sime, Eddie Wade, English Touring Opera, Helen Sherman, James Conway, Jeremy Silver, Matthew Sprange, Niel Joubert, Paula Sides
    Cambridge Arts Theatre Cambridge CB2 3PL
    United Kingdom

    Rarely performed, this exceptional bel canto classic is a stirring account of the sacrifice of the burghers of Calais, citizens under siege who offered their own lives in exchange for peace.

    From the first scene in the besiegers' camp, Donizetti ratchets up the tension. Inside the ravaged, starving city, the heroic mayor fights to suppress spies and cowards. Finally, despite the pleas of friends and loved ones, a small group offer themselves up to save their city in one of the most moving ensembles in all opera, O sacra polve, o suol natio.

    Vocally brilliant, dramatically assured, this new production, sung in Italian with English surtitles. is inspired by the heroic defence of Stalingrad, the definitive contemporary experience of siege.

    In leading roles are Eddie Wade as the mayor, Helen Sherman as his son Aurelio and Paula Sides as Aurelio's wife Eleonora.

    L'assedio di Calais
    Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
    £15 - £35 Available from 01223 503333 .
  • Sat, 2013-05-25 19:30
    Verdi's Simon Boccanegra | English Touring Opera
    Charne Rochford, Craig Smith, Elizabeth Llewellyn, English Touring Opera, Grant Doyle, James Conway, Keel Watson, Michael Rosewell, Piotr Lempa
    Cambridge Arts Theatre Cambridge CB2 3PL
    United Kingdom

    One of Verdi's greatest operas, Simon Boccanegra has a score inspired by the sea. It is the master's most intimate opera, revised with care at the end of his life - but it also calls for the largest company ETO has fielded to date.

    Originally set in medieval Genoa, Verdi's plea for an end to factionalism in politics was never more resonant than in Italy after World War II, where ETO's production is located. Verdi's depiction of the shimmering Mediterranean is wonderful. So too are the characters he creates, from Simon, the rough-hewn buccaneer, to his adversary, his own father-in-law.

    Michael Rosewell conducts this new production, sung in Italian with English surtitles. starring Craig Smith in the title role, Grant Doyle, Elizabeth Llewellyn and Charne Rochford.

    Simon Boccanegra
    Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
    £15 - £35 Available from 01223 503333 .
  • Fri, 2013-05-24 19:30
    Mozart's Così fan tutte | English Touring Opera
    Anthony Gregory, English Touring Opera, James Burton, Kitty Whately, Laura Mitchell, Paul Higgins, Paula Sides, Richard Mosley-Evans, Toby Girling
    Cambridge Arts Theatre Cambridge CB2 3PL
    United Kingdom

    The most perfect ensemble opera ever written, Cosi fan tutte is a comedy that hurts and blesses. The two pairs of innocent young lovers it describes may be foolish, bt they are also very attractive, especially when Mozart endows them with such beautiful songs.

    In a day fiancés are parted, and new fiancés found: can it be believed? Anyone who has found that they are not quite the person they thought - anyone who recognises that strange, exciting, embarassing feeling - knows very well that it can.

    ETO's new production, in period costume on an elegant, pastoral set, and sung in English, promises to deliver a tingle, a laugh and a tear, and a memory of youth.

    Cosi fan tutte
    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
    £15 - £35 Available from 01223 503333 .
  • Sat, 2013-05-25 20:00
    Charlotte Barbour-Condini (recorder) with the Swaledale Festival Players
    Adam Summerhayes, Charlotte Barbour-Condini, David Gordon, Joanna Parker, Malcolm Creese, Naomi Burrell, Natasha Kraemer, Virginie Guiffray
    St Andrew's Church Grinton DL11 6HH
    United Kingdom

    The sparkling 16 year-old recorder virtuoso and BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist is supported by an all-star baroque ensemble. Swaledale Festival favourites Adam Summerhayes and David Gordon have composed a brand new concerto especially for this concert.

    Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
    Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
    Concerto for Flute/Recorder and Strings in C minor
    Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
    The Grinton Concerto
    David Gordon (1965-)
    Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings in A
    George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
    Concerto for Violin in D, 'Il Grosso Mogul'
    Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
    Suite in A minor, reconstructed by T. Erhardt
    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
    £15, under 19 £3 Available from 01748 880019 From 29 April, Mon - St, 10:00 - 16:00.
  • Sun, 2013-05-26 20:00
    Renaissance Chamber Choir (Durham)
    Ben Rowarth, Renaissance Chamber Choir (Durham)
    St Oswald's Church Askrigg DL8 3JW
    United Kingdom

    Ben Rowarth conducts this superb young choir from Durham in a programme of exquisite Renaissance music by Weelkes, Byrd and Tallis, alongside more recent works such as James MacMillan's Missa Dunelmi and pieces by Vaughan Williams, Pärt and Ben Rowarth. Beautiful music in a delightful setting.

    Missa Dunelmi
    James MacMillan (1959-)
    Composition Not Known
    Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
    Composition Not Known
    Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623)
    Composition Not Known
    William Byrd (1543-1623)
    Composition Not Known
    Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
    Composition Not Known
    Arvo Pärt (1935-)
    Composition Not Known
    Ben Rowarth (1992-)
    £15, under 19 £3 Available from 01748 880019 From 29 April, Mon - St, 10:00 - 16:00.
  • Tue, 2013-05-28 16:00
    Flercussion - flute and percussion duo
    Calum Huggan, Jo Ashcroft
    St Michael & All Angels Church, Spennithorne near Leyburn DL8 5PR
    United Kingdom

    Two star graduates from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama present arrangements of a Debussy piano suite, a Piazzolla tango, a Shostakovich waltz and a dance by Arthur Honegger. This concert has been enabled through the help of the Countess of Munster Trust.

    Composition Not Known
    Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
    Composition Not Known
    Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
    Composition Not Known
    Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
    Composition Not Known
    Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)
    £8, under 19 £3 Available from 01748 880019 From 29 April, Mon - St, 10:00 - 16:00.
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    Tue, 2013-05-28 20:00
    Royal String Quartet
    Royal String Quartet
    St Andrew's Church Grinton DL11 6HH
    United Kingdom

    The outstanding young Royal String Quartet celebrates the centenary of the birth of the Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski. With Haydn’s ‘Sunrise’ Quartet and Borodin’s melody-packed Quartet No 1, this is a feast of chamber music of the highest quality.

    String Quartet in B flat, 'Sunrise'
    (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
    String Quartet
    Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994)
    String Quartet No 1 in A
    Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
    £12, under 19 £3 Available from 01748 880019 From 29 April, Mon - St, 10:00 - 16:00.
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    Sat, 2013-05-18 19:30
    The Armed Man | Slough Philharmonic Chorus
    Clare McCaldin, David Wilson, Rebecca Berkley, Slough Philharmonic Chorus, Slough Philharmonic Orchestra
    Eton College School Hall Eton SL4 6DW
    United Kingdom

    Certain portions of Karl Jenkins's 'The Armed Man' will be well known to listeners of Classic FM, but less frequently heard are the finer and most moving parts such as the Agnus Dei and the Benedictus. Thematically the work draws on the famous fifteenth century Burgundian popular song 'L'homme armé', establishing a link with many medieval composers who used the same song as a basis for their settings of the Mass. Jenkins' setting, written in 2000, remains the most popular choral work of the last twelve years.

    Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, written in 1965, is one of the most attractive choral works of the twentieth century, with its jazzy passages and the beauty of the reflective sequences.

    The concert begins with the famous Easter Hymn from Mascagni's opera 'Cavalleria Rusticana', with the soprano soloist soaring above the chorus and orchestra, followed by the equally famous 'Intermezzo' for orchestra.

    Clare McCaldin is one of this country's leading mezzo-sopranos, singing operatic roles at Covent Garden and Scottish Opera and at the Proms in August 2012. She is also in great demand as a recitalist and oratorio soloist.

    Chichester Psalms
    Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
    The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
    Karl Jenkins (1944-)
    Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana
    Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)
    £14; Students and U16s £10 Available from 01628 788997 Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 8pm; Sunday 2pm – 8pm.
  • Sat, 2013-05-25 19:30
    The Sixteen - Choral Pilgrimage
    Harry Christophers, The Sixteen
    St John's Kirk Perth
    United Kingdom

    In 2013 world-renowned choir The Sixteen will present its most far-reaching Choral Pilgrimage tour yet, encompassing 34 concerts around the UK. The tour, entitled The Queen of Heaven, will see Harry Christophers CBE and his choir perform glorious music in churches and cathedrals for which it was written. This will be a ‘must-hear’ event where the group will take you through the musical evolution of the Allegri’s legendary and much-requested Miserere. The programme also features stunning music by the ‘Prince of Music’ Palestrina, as well another brilliant yet contrasting setting of the Miserere by James Macmillan.

    Missa Regina caeli
    Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
    Dominus Dabit Benignitatem from Strathclyde Motets
    James MacMillan (1959-)
    Improperium expectavit cor meum
    Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
    Miserere mei
    Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652)
    Videns Dominus from Strathclyde Motets
    James MacMillan (1959-)
    Stabat mater
    Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
    Vineam meam non custodivi
    Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
    O Radiant Dawn
    James MacMillan (1959-)
    Pulchrae sunt genae tuae
    Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
    Miserere
    James MacMillan (1959-)
    Agnus Dei from Missa Regina caeli
    Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
    £25 Available from 01738 621031 10am - 6pm.
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    Mon, 2013-05-27 19:45
    Mozart's Così fan tutte | English Touring Opera
    Anthony Gregory, English Touring Opera, James Burton, Kitty Whately, Laura Mitchell, Orchestra of English Touring Opera, Paul Higgins, Paula Sides, Richard Mosley-Evans, Toby Girling
    G Live Guildford GU1 2AA
    United Kingdom

    The most perfect ensemble opera ever written, Cosi fan tutte is a comedy that hurts and blesses. The two pairs of innocent young lovers it describes may be foolish, bt they are also very attractive, especially when Mozart endows them with such beautiful songs.

    In a day fiancés are parted, and new fiancés found: can it be believed? Anyone who has found that they are not quite the person they thought - anyone who recognises that strange, exciting, embarassing feeling - knows very well that it can.

    ETO's new production, in period costume on an elegant, pastoral set, and sung in English, promises to deliver a tingle, a laugh and a tear, and a memory of youth.

    Così fan tutte
    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
    £19 - £32 Available from 0844 7701 797 .