Venue: St John's, Waterloo, London

Midsummer Opera took to the stage of St John’s Waterloo for a vivacious performance of Verdi’s tragic Un ballo in maschera, celebrating their 30th anniversary season.

Small London company Midsummer Opera's production of Verdi's huge Otello was extremely ambitious, with a full orchestra filling St Johns Church, Waterloo. Tenor John Upperton took on a lot, acting as chorusmaster as well as singing Otello, and he took the evening's vocal honours.

This was my second visit to the Brandenburg Choral Festival, and I was looking forward to seeing younger performers tackle some challenging music. The experience outlined in the programme that Oakham School Chamber Choir have had is impressive, with the school giving over 80 concerts a year and touring recently to Dublin and Paris.