Jubilant celebrations of Purcell in Wimbledon

By Billie Hylton, 13 November 2012

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Reviewed at St John the Baptist Church, Wimbledon, London on 10 November 2012

Purcell, Celebrate this festival, Z 321 (Symphony and Opening Chorus)

Purcell, Oedipus: Music for a While, Z 583 no.2

Purcell, Birthday ode for Queen Mary / Come ye sons of art, away, Z323

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas

The Academy Choir Wimbledon

Academy Baroque Orchestra

Andrew Edwards, Conductor

Susan Bickley, Dido

Malin Christensson, Belinda

Njabulo Madlala, Aeneas

Tom Emlyn Williams, Sailor

Robin Blaze, Countertenor

James Bowman, Countertenor

Tearing up the tulips: Ariodante at the Royal Academy of Music

Charlotte Valori, 20th March

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a Handel opera in pursuit of a happy ending must have a few twists and turns, and Ariodante has everything you would expect.

***11

Ludicrous, but brilliant: Barber of Seville at The Grange Festival

Dominic Lowe, 9th June

From the stately front of The Grange, an impressive moustache looms large, welcoming the audience to a production of Rossini's masterpiece that baffles, confuses and delights the audience.

****1

Grief and nostalgia trump a rarity at Three Choirs Festival

Simon Cummings, 31st July

Cecil Armstrong Gibbs’ largely forgotten Symphony no. 2, "Odysseus" proves exhausting, while works by Ireland and Howells tap into rich veins of mythical wistfulness and excruciating pain.

****1

Pulling the heart strings: Madam Butterfly returns to ENO

Dominic Lowe, 26th February

Anthony Minghella's classic production of Madam Butterfly makes a welcome return with a sensational role debut by Natalya Romaniw as Cio-Cio-San.

****1

Sukanya: close but no sitar

Timmy Fisher, 15th January

Ravi Shankar's valiant fusion of East and West is no greater than the sum of its parts.

***11

Dido: Purcell's opera renamed and relocated

Mark Valencia, 11th May

Director Purni Morell sandpapers every trace of spikiness from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, leaving the production a victim of its own good intentions.

**111

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Billie Hylton

Billie is a keen music student in London, and a former Bachtrack intern. She started piano lessons and singing at the age of four and is still doing both regularly. She sings in Ralph Allwood’s Rodolfus Choir and has a particular interest in Benjamin Britten.