Tag Archives: Orchestra of Opera North

Soloists: Victoria Joyce (soprano), Louise Crane (mezzo-soprano), Joseph Shovelton (tenor), Jeremy Peaker (baritone), Richard Woodall (bass) Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Anthony Kraus The Kirklees Concert Season with the Orchestra of Opera North is anything but an orthodox series of symphony concerts. The opener, admittedly, was a conventional Beethoven and Schubert programme, but soon there is the challenging one-act opera by Bartok, ...

Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Ruth Reinhardt Soloist: Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano) Reviewer: Ron Simpson The first concert of the Orchestra of Opera North’s Kirklees season was titled The Emperor. No wonder – Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, his Piano Concerto No. 5, dominated the evening. The customary arrangement of overture (or other shortish work), concerto and symphony was wisely abandoned in ...

Composer and lyricist: Adam Guettel Writer: Craig Lucas Director Daniel Evans Reviewer: Stephen Bates Once upon a time, wealthy Americans could stroll through Italian cities, unhampered by hordes of other tourists, and get swept off their feet by the pick of the lusty locals. The Light in the Piazza harks back to the 1950s, when air travel was established and ...

Composer/Project Lead: Kevin Malone Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Robert Guy Soloist: Andy Long (violin) Reviewer: Ron Simpson A Day in the Life is described as a “project” rather than just a concert or a composition and, with Kevin Malone’s spoken introductions having hints as to the best way to listen to the pieces, the whole operation has a ...

Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Dalia Stasevska Soloist: Ana Maria Labin (soprano) Reviewer: Ron Simpson For the final concert in the Kirklees 2018-2019 season, the Orchestra of Opera North presented a programme under the title “Reflections”. Given that it started with Lutoslawski’s Musique funebre, continued with Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs of which the final line translates as “Is ...

Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Antony Hermus Soloist: Boris Giltburg (piano) Reviewer: Ron Simpson The latest in the Orchestra of Opera North’s Kirklees concerts, programmed for late Sunday afternoon, again emphasised the orchestra’s versatility. This concert of Russian works of the late 19th and 20th centuries came in the middle of a run of three operas at Leeds Grand, ...

Music: Adrian Sutton Writer: Michael Morpurgo Songs: John Tams Drawings and artwork: Rae Smith Conductor: David Angus Narrators: Michael Morpurgo, Juliet Stevenson Performed by: Orchestra of Opera North, St Peter’s Singers Reviewer: Rich Jevons Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse has been seen in both theatre and film to great success, not to mention being a best-seller. But War Horse: The Story in ...

Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Richard Farnes Soloists: Fflur Wyn (soprano), Johnny Herford (baritone) Chorus: Opera North Youth Ensembles Reviewer: Ron Simpson The Songs of War was remarkable in several ways. It included the world premiere of a “micro-opera”, Will Todd’s Songs of Love and Battle, commissioned by Opera North specifically for performance by its Youth Ensembles. It featured ...