The Fascination Of Shostakovich
A super feature on Shostakovich by David Fanning in Gramophone Magazine.
A super feature on Shostakovich by David Fanning in Gramophone Magazine.
Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour opens this week and the offering this year is Puccini’s masterpiece La Bohème. Directed by Andy Morton and conducted by Brian Castles-Onion the sets and costumes are designed by Dan Potra who memorably designed the exquisite sets and costumes for Turandot (HOSH 2016). Here’s a preview of just some of Potra’s…
Image by Branco Gaica, courtesy Opera Australia. Opera Australia’s production of Falstaff opens in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House tonight, Friday February 15th, in its continuing ‘Verdi-fest’. Based on Shakespeare’s comic play The Merry Wives of Windsor, this production is directed by Simon Phillips and conducted by Antony Walker. Warwick Fyfe…
The name of Dame Joan Sutherland has been immortalised with the Opera Theatre of Sydney’s Opera House re-named in her honour. Concert halls have been named after benefactors (Carnegie), Royalty (The Royal Albert Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall) and musicians (the Bruckner Hall in Linz and the Bartok Hall in Budapest. It is a rare honour, and…
The 2018 Grammy for Best Opera Recording awarded to Berg Wozzeck — Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus Of Students And Alumni, Shepherd School Of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus) Other nominees: Berg: Lulu — Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter;…
A decade after Nicholas Routley, the founding director of the Sydney Chamber Choir has left the ensemble he created, there is still a powerful nexus between them. Talking about the choir’s upcoming 40th anniversary concert this weekend, which he will conduct, Nicholas Routley muses “I don’t know whether to say ‘we’ or ‘they’ since I…
Heldentenor Simon O’Neill has been announced Best Classical Artist for 2019, at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards in Auckland, following his debut album for Decca, Distant Beloved, with pianist Terence Dennis. Australian audiences will be familiar with O’Neill after his performances as Otello and as Sergei (in Lady Macbeth of Mtensk) for Opera Australia….