Best concerts and opera in August
Tremendous Proms, something to lighten the mood, and a pair of stage rarities
Tremendous Proms, something to lighten the mood, and a pair of stage rarities
An enchanting hour of musi, puppetry and more for children inspired by the colour tales of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Under the sea, out on the farm and into the jungle, the music journey brings together characters from ever-popular titles including Tiddler, Monkey Puzzle, The Smartest Giant in Town and A Squash and a Squeeze.
Read more ...Escape to the coast and to ravishing countryside, and get immersed in world-class music with the month-long Suffolk-based festival, Summer at Snape. Artists include cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (pictured), guitarist Miloš and pianists Katia & Marielle Labèque. Orchestras include the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, Academy of Ancient Music, Britten Sinfonia, Chineke! and the newly formed Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson.
Read more ...For 10 years Aurora Orchestra has been thrilling Proms audiences with performances from memory of classic works. This summer it is Beethoven's Symphony No 5, with its distinctive di-di-di dah opening. But if you think you known this music, wait until the BBC's Tom Service and conductor Nicholas Collon take it apart and put it back together again in this highly entertaining programme. Also played, the Violin Concerto No 1 by rebellious Russian Dmitri Shostakovich, with exciting soloist Patricia Kopatchinskaja (pictured), and to open, the mathematical O-Mega, final composition of Iannis Xenakis, who was born 100 years ago.
Read more ...A remarkable pair of operas make up an evening with a difference at Glyndebourne. In La Voix Humaine by Francis Poulence we listen in on one side of a telephone conversation as a relationship unravels. Soprano Stéphanie d’Oustrac (pictured) sings the sole role. In the second half, the same composer's surreal Les Mamelles de Tirésias, frustrated housewife Thérèse starts a new life as a man, with hilarious results.
Read more ...All aboard an evening of wonderful music and high comedy when Charles Court Opera appears in the Opera Holland Park season with a co-production of Gilbert and Sullivan's maritime romp. Making a mockery of the over-promoted and celebrating the Royal Navy, the opera is directed by the very talented John Savournin (pictured) who also plays Captain Corcoran.
Read more ...This exciting young conductor (pictured, centre) was quickly snapped up by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra which gives the second of its London 2022 concerts at the Proms. On the programme, Sibelius's tone poem Tapiola and Richard Strauss's heroic journey Ein Heldenleben bookend the fireworks of Liszt's Piano Concerto No 1, with dynamic soloist Yuja Wang.
Read more ...Some of the most original new works and artists are showcased in this highly celebration of the endless possibilities of opera. Works in the month-long festival include Memoirs of an Amnesiac, The Dong with the Luminous Nose, Toadette the Frog Opera, and space comedy Module 471. The Cockpit is base camp, but some performances are further afield. If you think opera is all fans and handkerchiefs, prepared to have your preconceptions blown away.
Read more ...An opera in all but name (Handel had to keep the right side of the Bishop of London), this highly dramatic story features big set pieces in music: the building of a temple and a palace for the king's true love, the quarrel over a baby, and the famously musical arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Star soloists include counter-tenor Iesytn Davies as Solomon, Joëlle Harvey as his queen, Benjamin Hulett as Zadok and bass Ashley Riches.
Read more ...For an ethereal evening of sacred song there is nothing to beat The Sixteen's late night Prom. Music by Górecki, Byrd and others is sung with the mighty 40-part motet Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis and (with extra voices joining the core Sixteen) Sir James MacMillan's companion piece, also in 40 parts, Vidi Aquam. Just listen to the voices of Harry Christophers' ensemble ring round the Royal Albert Hall towards midnight. There's nothing like it.
Read more ...With its compelling story-telling, perceptive characterisation and sublime music for voice and instruments, Bach's B Minor Mass is always a massive draw at the Proms and beyond. On this occasion, John Butt conducts the Orchestra and Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, with soloists including Iestyn Davies and Mary Bevan (pictured). Book early. This will sell out fast.
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