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Fauré was the finest of French songwriters. Stéphane Degout and Véronique Gens shine in a full-length evening in a packed Wigmore Hall. 

The American diva dazzles with plenty of star power, but shows she still has a remarkable power to communicate.

In keeping with the theme of Tuesday’s (Le) Poisson Rouge concert entitled “Do Something Different”, I will diverge from the ordinary by opening with the evening’s closing remark: “This is opera in New York City today!”Opera Singers Initiative founder Anna Lee excitedly delivered this terse eight-word proclamation on the venue’s dimly-lit stage, where she was joined by vocalists from Opera Singers

Drawing names such as Sarah Connolly and Dame Felicity Lott to the dreaming spires, the Oxford Lieder Festival has defined itself as a leading musical exponent on an international level. It was fitting, then, that Alice Coote and Julius Drake should open the final weekend of the eleventh festival.

‘Fêtes Galantes’ is one of those glorious French phrases that sounds so wonderful but is nigh on impossible to translate. Rather than having any concrete meaning, it evokes Watteau-esque imagery of woodland gatherings, where eighteenth-century aristocrats amuse themselves by flirting, dancing and making music.

Le duo a immergé le public dans un salon de la Belle Époque, faisant preuve d'un art remarquable de la diction, des couleurs et des atmosphères.

Le chanteur et le guitariste transforment un programme éclectique, de Dowland à Barbara, en récital palpitant.