I seem to be spending a lot of time at Howard Assembly Room lately, for which I am truly grateful, especially when I get to see some of the country’s, nay world’s, best musicians and singers up close and personal. Such was the case last night when I witnessed a supreme performance by baritone Roderick…

Whiling away a relaxed hour on a Saturday afternoon at Howard Assembly Room listening to professional opera singers accompanied by only a piano, sounded too good to be true. Sadly it was, but that was a consequence of their doing all they could to make everyone welcome. There was a section on the pertinent website…

Apologies to Carly Simon but I couldn’t resist. Carmen, George Bizet’s opera which was staged by Opera North at Leeds Grand Theatre last October, is coming back for a short season. The production is the same although there have been several cast changes. Fortunately the sublime Chrystal E Williams still sings the title role so…

After seeing Alcina I have decided where I am going for my next holiday, or at least I would have if the island on which the opera was set had been named. It is not my usual target destination being a sparsely populated place with nothing much by way of interest except jungle and beach.…

When I first began writing about opera I was advised that the music was great but the plots were a bit far fetched. I have indeed found that to be the case and surely no one can be accused of stretching the bounds of credibility more than Guiseppe Verdi in his opera Rigoletto. The work…