Contents
FRONT OF HOUSE
EDITORIAL Time for change YOUNG ARTIST OF THE MONTH Meeting rising star, soprano Katherine McIndoe - NEWS & NOTES New Year Honours are announced, a play based around the friendship of Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst comes to the RSC, Judith Weir’s opera Blond Eckbert is announced to open the 2024 Aldeburgh Festival and Nevill Holt Opera rebrands as the Nevill Holt Festival
‘It’s an artform that usually you don’t find a lot of black people being successful in. Statistically I should not be a success’
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REVIEWS - LIVE REVIEWS UK London Fringe roundup (36) EUROPE Donizetti Opera Festival, Bergamo Il diluvio universal, Alfredo il Grande, Lucie de Lammermoor (40) Vienna Staatsoper Turandot (42) USA Seattle Opera Alcina (44) Washington National Opera Grounded & Romeo et Juliette (46) AUSTRALIA Opera Australia Ring Cycle (49) - RECORDINGS 52-54 New releases on CD, Digital & AV including: Strauss: Four Last Songs – a new recording from Asmik Grigorian; a recording of Verdi’s I Lombardi all prima crociata from the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and Diana Damrau’s album of operettas, as well as productions of Amahl and the Night Visitors, Iolanta and The Nutcracker and The Favorite captured on film Opera Now Choice: John Thomas adaptations of operatic numbers for harp and piano from Duo Praxedis and a recording of opera classics for clarinet and piano by Aldo Botta and Giuseppe Galiano which both receive five stars
PHOTOGRAPHY
: LA JOY
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COVER
- SPOTLIGHT Worldwide Opera Guide and answers to this issue’s Quiz (p63)
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CONTENTS
Cover feature Russell Thomas shares the inspiration behind his residency and upcoming autobiographical commission at LA Opera Vocal health Singer Kate Valentine tells her story from promising young artist to developing a severe voice disorder, A world premiere at Dresden Semperoper We explore the compositional process of Detlev Glanert previewing The Jewess of Toledo.
Opera Australia’s new Ring Cycle Reviewing a new science fictioninspired complete Ring Cycle at Opera Australia
Behind the Scenes In this month’s Behind the Scenes feature we speak to Artistic Administrator of The Grange Festival Scott Cooper
Quiz How well do you know Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor? Test your knowledge in our monthly quiz
S A L L Y
JU B B
Scottish Opera Highlights Tour Travelling to the Highlands with a quartet of singers from Scottish Opera, bringing the joy of opera to remote communities
www.operanow.co.uk
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