20th- and 21st-century song with Andrew Tortise and Chris Hopkins at Presteigne

By Peter Reynolds, 29 August 2013

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Reviewed at St Andrew's Church, Presteigne on 24 August 2013

Tippett, The Heart's Assurance

Matthews D., Three Dunwich Songs, Op.126

Jackson, Ruined Land

Wood, Wild Cyclamen

Andrew Tortise, Tenor

Chris Hopkins, Piano

Madcap comedy from Verdi: Un giorno di regno at Garsington

David Karlin, 29th June

Christopher Alden, Chris Hopkins and an excellent cast send us a comic roller coaster ride with Verdi’s ultra-rarely performed second opera.

*****

Werther in the woods: an intense new production at Grange Park Opera

David Truslove, 17th June

John Doyle's emotional staging of Werther gets to the heart of Massenet's engagement with Goethe in memorable performances.

****1

A “Spanish hour” in Kensington with Ravel and Grange Park Opera

Mark Valencia, 20th March

Editor Ben Willis almost convinced me that two grown men could fit inside grandfather clocks

****1

Britten's cinderella opera? Owen Wingrave from Grange Park Opera

Mark Valencia, 9th December

Conceived for television and first seen on BBC2 in May 1971, Owen Wingrave should lend itself to creative staging and the small screen. Does this new film convince?

****1

Cancelled Christmas? Knot on your life: Bach at Wigmore Hall

Benjamin Poore, 20th December

The Solomon's Knot collective offered a lively account of four cantatas from Bach's Christmas Oratorio.

****1

The Ultimate Romantic: BBCSSO uncovers Lélio, a Berlioz rarity

David Smythe, 17th February

BBCSSO’s contributes to Berlioz – The Ultimate Romantic with a swaggering Waverley Overture, Dramatic Death of Cleopatra and an intriguing performance of Lélio, or what happened after Symphonie Fantastique.

****1

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Peter Reynolds

Peter Reynolds was a composer and writer on music living in Cardiff. He was a part-time member of staff at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and, in 2009, published a history of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Very sadly he passed away on 11th October 2016.