September 1999 Volume 50 No 9

Founded by the Earl of Harewood Editor 1953-86 Harold Rosenthal, DBE

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Editor Rodney Milnes Co-Editor John Allison Marketing Director Alice Lindsay Editorial A ssistant Stefani e Bri.iggemann Editorial Board Martin Bernheimer Alan Blyth Ian Brunskill Andrew Clark Andrew Clements Richard Fairman Noel Goodwin Michael Kennedy Fiona Maddocks Charle Osborne Andrew Porter John Warrack

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Editorial Offices la Mountgrove Road London NS 2LU Telephone: 0171-359 1037 Fax: 0171-354 2700 e-mail: operam ag@clara.co.uk WEBSITE: http://www.opera.co.uk

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Advertising order and copy to Catherine Hawkins Cabbell Publisrung Ltd 31 Hartfield Crescent London SW19 3SG Tel: 0181-395 3808 Fax: 0181-395 3999

Front Cover: Kim Begley and Solveig Kringelborn as Jenik and Marenka in 'The Bartered Bride' at Glyndebourne (Photo: Mike Hoban)

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Here comes the 'Bride' John Allison on Glyndebourne' Smetana Readers' Letters Working with Elliott Carter Paul Griffiths Opera N ewsdesk Tour de force Martin Dreyer on the smaller companies Nile Scenes Michael Church People 255: Suzanne Murphy Rodney Milnes Constance Shacklock, 1913- 1999 Alan Blyth Opera Around the World: reports from America, Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden COMING EVENTS SUPPLEMENT including plans for the UK houses: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Marseille, Berlin (Deutsche Oper), Wexford, Turin, Madrid; 'We hear that .. .'; Opera calendar home and abroad Opera books British Opera Diary: 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' at the Barbican; 'La clemenza di Tito' and 'Manon Lescaut' at Glyndebourne; 'Die Liebe der Danae' at Garsington; WNO's 'Tri tan'; 'Rigoletto' at the Coliseum; Almeida Opera' 'Powder Her Face' and 'Tobias and the Angel'; 'The Barber of Seville' at Grange Park Opera on the fringe Opera at the colleges Opera on disc Classified advertisements I can't live without .. . Desormiere's 'Pelleas' Eduardo Arnosi