Opera funding cuts: What is the future of the art form?
Opera in the UK is in crisis. In the latest round of government funding allocated by The Arts Council England (ACE), many of the...
In conversation with the Oxford Opera Society
"Those who aren’t so familiar with the plots of the major operas, or who wish to immerse themselves in the romance, revenge and occasional comedy so characteristic of the genre, needn’t worry that Opera Scenes isn’t staging a full production."
Narratives of Grief: Creating ‘Opera for One’
This is a strength of the performance: with a range of experiences of grief explored by a variety of composers and librettists, no one singular experience is presented, but instead the performance looks at the nuances of the emotions of grieving.
Historical Opera: A Primer
The ancient Greeks were so moved by music that
in their mythological conception, the father of songs, Orpheus, could move even
the rocks. In less fanciful...
Review: Don Giovanni
Premiered in 1787 in Prague and in the Habsburg court in Vienna, Mozart’s Don Giovanni offered a biting social comedy. Breathing new life into...
Review: Oxford Contemporary Opera Festival
Clementine Scott is impressed by the Oxford Contemporary Opera Festival at Saint Hilda's.
Everyone’s a Critic
Readers don’t want to read an essay. If they did, they would be scouring SOLO instead of flicking through a newspaper. The majority simply want to know if buying a ticket translates into a fun evening out.
W. G. Still: The Forgotten American Tchaikovsky
At one point America's most successful symphonist, lauded for his ode to forgotten black soldiers, few today have heard of W. G. Still.
According to The Cambridge History of American Music, “No composer plummeted from authentic prominence to an eclipse more total than endured by William Grant Still.”
Interview: renowned opera singer Iestyn Davies
Cambridge, choirs, colleges and everything else
Review: Eugene Onegin at St John’s College Auditorium
The People's Opera's production of Eugene Onegin is a great achievement against the odds
Behind the curtain of opera’s accessibility crisis
Josh Taylor explores opera's apparent lack of appeal
Silent Night Review – ‘a story very relevant to our time’
The multilingual reimagining of the Christmas Truce at Leeds Town Hall feels particularly timely
The Corridor review – ‘a serious spectacle of operatic drama’
Isaac Pockney is spellbound by an opera that puts a fresh twist on a classic tale
Ignore the naysayers, opera is for everyone
Many have dismissed opera as unaffordable and elitist – they are missing out, writes Jack Pepper