Paul Stanhope turns Indigenous legend into choral hero. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The most famous scion of a legendary guitar dynasty talks fathers and sons, working with Joaquín Rodrigo and his proudest moment.

The aptly named Alpha & Omega is the last of three discs of choral music dedicated to the pugnacious Scottish composer James MacMillan by Cappella Nova, a choir with whom he has been associated since at least 1994 when they commissioned his Seven Last Words from the Cross. To say that they are inside his idiom, then, is an understatement. The first two volumes were exemplary, and this new SACD is no exception. MacMillan refers to his attraction to a “soft English modernism” as opposed to the Darmstadt school, which he has always found problematic. His own sound is direct, yet complex; ecstatic, yet grounded in a deep humanity and a desire to communicate his faith – in this case Catholicism. But don’t let that put the rest of you off – his is an engaging sound world with a message that transcends dogma to touch the heart and soul. The major work here is his Missa Dunelmi, written for Durham Cathedral, and here conducted by the composer himself. MacMillan’s melismatic lines and soaring melodies are faithfully conveyed (with a capital F) though the soprano line can feel a little abrasive at times. The other six works are all premiere…

Distinguished soprano who led Sydney Opera House opening production passes away at 67.

Contemporary music’s equivalent of a Heston Blumenthal tasting plate. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

An explosive highlight of the 2010 Adelaide Guitar Festival, Costa plays alongside Pepe Romero. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Sweeping the cobwebs from one of Salieri's smuttier masterpieces.

Simon O’Neill and Lianna Haroutounian soar over Kupfer’s epic production.

Giant portrait of the Schubert the romantic great lasts half a day before being washed away by the incoming tide.

SSO and Robertson continue their Chinese odyssey with a concert in Beijing's iconic NCPA.

A comic opera about wife beating? Not sure how it would go down today but in 1841, Donizetti penned Rita, a one act, to a French libretto. Due to various vicissitudes, not the least of which must have been the composer’s advancing case of the clap, it was never performed in Donizetti’s lifetime, premiering posthumously at Paris’ Opéra-Comique in 1860. It’s a slight affair. Believing her husband Gasparo drowned at sea, Rita has married the timorous Pepe. Gasparo used to beat Rita, she now beats her new spouse. When Gasparo, who fancies wedding another hapless maid in Canada, turns up hoping to destroy his old marriage certificate, Pepe sees his chance to escape his matrimonial obligations. Several farcical twists and turns involving games of chance and fake disabilities end in a duel, at which point Rita sees the value of Pepe after all and Gasparo heads into the sunset advising Rita to keep her fists primed for the future. Opera Rara have done their usual superb job with recording and packaging but it can’t quite disguise the thinness of the material. It’s late Donizetti, therefore it’s tuneful and crafted fare. The orchestra and conductor couldn’t be bettered and the three…

Meet the young pianists, instrumentalists, singers and conductors taking classical music into the future.