Intérprete: Majella Cullagh

Polly Graham's take on Mozart's Così fan tutte is full of humour and political commentary, while the singing is a joy to hear. 

A declamatory Bruckner Te Deum made up for a less exciting first half of Barry and Mahler. 

A terrific double bill of two one-act operas: Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) by Alexander von Zemlinsky and Il tabarro by Giacomo Puccini.

Alzira, Verdi’s eighth opera, is something of a discarded child within his canon, not least because of Verdi’s own dismissal of it as “proprio brutta” (really ugly) after it was poorly received both in Naples and Rome. Perhaps Verdi was stung by a blot on an otherwise successful career: on the basis of last night’s concert performance by Chelsea Opera Group, the score has plenty to commend it.

Gaetano Donizetti's commedia dell'arte-inspired Don Pasquale is one of the favourites in the opera buffa repertoire. At its ending, the assembled company boisterously enjoin us to remember that when an elderly man marries a much younger woman, no good can result.Apparently, the same is not true of an elderly conductor joining a much younger orchestra.