Stinsford church, near Dorchester in Dorset in the south-west of England, just a short distance from Thomas Hardy’s birthplace at Upper Bockhampton, and the place where his heart is buried, provided the perfect setting for A Beautiful Thread, a new

The second opera of Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen, Die Walküre, is the most frequently performed of the cycle and contains some of the best-known music. Nevertheless, it demands directorial genius, musical finesse, as well as top-tier singers to bring

Nicholas Smith went to China over 30 years ago, his Cambridge music degree fresh in his hand, initially as a VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) volunteer with a two-year contract in China to teach English. Teaching English led to learning Chinese

Giorgi Gigashvili – 17th Arthur Rubinstein Competition Giorgi Gigashvili made his name by capturing the second prize at the Rubinstein Competition in 2023, where he also garnered his audience with his daring interpretations and commanding stage presence. I’ve been observing

The Barbican Centre witnessed contemplations on death and fate this evening (May 17, 2024). Under the baton of Anna Rakitina, the BBC Symphony Orchestra was set to perform the London premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s The Wrath of God and Rachmaninoff’s

Appointed artist-in-residence at the Wigmore Hall for the 2023/24 season, Ukrainian-born Australian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk stands out as one of the most promising pianists of his generation – I mean, you have to be pretty good to receive standing ovations

Named Artist of the Year at the 2023 International Classical Music Awards and Best Female Singer of the Year at the 2024 Oper! Awards, Ermonela Jaho is internationally recognised as one of the greatest operatic artists of our day. By

The Royal Opera House’s new production of Wagner’s Rheingold, directed by the often provocative and occasionally controversial Australian Barrie Kosky, achieved what most opera houses can only dream about: it became the talk of the town. I heard from one