Latest News: Classical, Opus Arte (label)
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Recording of the Week,
Massenet's Cendrillon from Glyndebourne 19th June 2020Danielle de Niese and Kate Lindsey bring real psychological depth to Cinderella and Prince Charming's relationship in Fiona Shaw's astute and sparkling production, with John Wilson supplying fairy-dust aplenty from the pit.
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Recording of the Week,
Samuel Barber's Vanessa from Glyndebourne 7th June 2019The Pulitzer-winning 1958 opera receives a vividly cinematic staging from Keith Warner in its first outing on DVD and Blu-ray, filmed at the Sussex festival last summer.
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Interview,
Mark Williams on The Pillar of the Cloud 6th June 2019Director of Music Mark Williams talks to David about his new album with the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, surveying music from the past five centuries connected to the city.
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Interview,
Sir George Benjamin on Lessons in Love and Violence 13th February 2019The composer talks to Katherine about the genesis of his third opera, which premiered at Covent Garden last May and was released on DVD and Blu-ray at the end of December.
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Recording of the Week,
George Benjamin's Lessons in Love and Violence 28th December 2018The British composer's third opera, based on the downfall of Edward II and starring French baritone Stéphane Degout as the conflicted monarch, has a compact, claustrophobic beauty.
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Interview,
Allan Clayton on Brett Dean's Hamlet 26th July 2018Following on from our interview with the composer earlier this week, Katherine talks to the English tenor about bringing this new incarnation of Shakespeare's 'sweet prince' to life.
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Interview,
Brett Dean on Hamlet 23rd July 2018The Australian composer talks to Katherine about the genesis of his acclaimed 2017 Shakespearean opera, filmed at Glyndebourne last summer and now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Opus Arte.
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Interview,
Kasper Holten on Das Liebesverbot 11th March 2017With his new production of Die Meistersinger opening at Covent Garden tonight, Katherine talks to the director about his recent staging of Wagner's neglected early comic opera.
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Recording of the Week,
Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Donizetti's Poliuto from Glyndebourne 22nd July 2016Katherine enjoys a double-bill of innovative Roman-themed operatic productions from Glyndebourne 2015.
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Interview,
Christopher Purves on Glyndebourne's Saul 5th July 2016Katherine talks to the bass-baritone about singing the title-role in Barrie Kosky's staging of Handel's oratorio.
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Interview,
Saimir Pirgu 19th January 2016As he prepares to sing La traviata at Covent Garden this evening, Katherine talks to the Albanian tenor about his new operatic recital-disc on Opus Arte.
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Interview,
Kasper Holten on Don Giovanni 18th September 2014Katherine talks to the director of the Royal Opera House about his recent production of Mozart's darkest opera, out now on DVD and Blu-ray and due for revival in the spring.
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Recording of the Week,
New DVDs from Glyndebourne 23rd May 2011South African baritone Jacques Imbrailo is endearing and compelling in the title-role of Billy Budd (directed by Michael Grandage), whilst Gerald Finley is an elegantly rakish Don Giovanni in Jonathan Kent’s 1950s staging.