Citizens Theatre, 27/12/2013

The Jungle Book

after Rudyard Kipling
Adapted by Stuart Paterson
Directed by Nikolai Foster

SCO, 20/12/2013

Haydn : Symphony No. 85, "La Reine"
Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271, "Jeunehomme"
Ravel : Pavane pour une infante défunte
Poulenc : Sinfonietta

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Christian Zacharias (piano/direction)

Scottish Ballet, 17/12/2013

Humperdinck : Hansel and Gretel

Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet Orchestra
Richard Honner

RSNO, 14/12/2013

Ravel : Valses nobles et sentimentales
Brahms : Double Concerto (Nicola Benedetti, violin; Leonard Elschenbroich, cello)
Lutoslawski : Concerto for Orchestra

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Yan Pascal Tortelier

Royal Ballet (HD broadcast), 12/12/2013

Tchaikovsky : The Nutcracker

The Royal Ballet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Tom Seligman

RSNO, 05/12/2013

Glazunov : The Seasons - Winter
Rachmaninoff : Piano Concerto No. 1 (Lise de la Salle, piano)
Tchaikovsky : The Nutcracker - Act 2

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Alexander Shelley

RSNO, 23/11/2013

Messiaen : Les offrandes oubliées
Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" (Nikolai Lugansky, piano)
Rachmaninoff : Symphonic Dances


Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

RSNO, 16/11/2013

Britten : War Requiem

Evelina Dobraceva, soprano
Jeffrey Francis, tenor
Russell Braun, baritone
RSNO Junior Chorus
RSNO Chorus
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

BBCSSO, 07/11/2013

Tippett : Divertimento on "Sellinger's Round"
Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 (Shai Wosner, piano)
Vaughan Williams : Symphony No. 7, "Sinfonia Antartica" (Katherine Broderick, soprano)

Ladies of the Glasgow Chamber Choir
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Manze

Chiz, chiz, chiz (to quote nigel molesworth) ...

... because the cinema from which I had chosen to view the ROH's Sicilian Vespers broadcast developed a satellite fault.  That wasn't the end of it either.  The management was pretty decent in their apologies; full refund, guest pass to any future show, including ROH broadcasts (and in any branch of the chain, including IMAX), and free entry to any other film showing on the premises tonight if desired.  Since I was out for the evening anyway, I chose another film - and then they forgot to load the movie!

Forty minutes after the announced starting time (and yes, of course 30 minutes would have been taken up by ads and trailers), we were still sitting looking at a blank screen.  Another customer had the good sense to go ask what the problem was; me, I had my nose in a book, as is my habit when waiting for just about anything.  We were subsequently spared the ads and trailers, which is always a good thing.

So I'm going to have to wait for Radio 3 to broadcast Vespers, and I'd really done my homework for this one!  It's the only mature Verdi I haven't seen now.  But the evening turned out passably entertaining nevertheless, even if partially for the wrong reasons.

[Next : 7th November]

BBCSSO, 24/10/2013

Schnelzer : A Freak in Burbank
Rachmaninoff : Piano Concerto No. 2 (Denis Kozhukhin, piano)
Nielsen : Symphony No. 4 "The Inextinguishable"

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Dausgaard

Bolshoi Ballet (HD broadcast), 20/10/2013

Khachaturian : Spartacus

Artists of the Bolshoi Ballet
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
Pavel Sorokin

Scottish Opera, 18/10/2013

Mozart : Don Giovanni

Chorus and Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Speranza Scappucci

Royal Ballet (HD broadcast), 16/10/2013

Minkus : Don Quixote

The Royal Ballet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Martin Yates

SCO, 11/10/13

Dvorák : Notturno
Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 23, K.488 (Llyr Williams, piano)
Janácek : Concertino (Llyr Williams, piano)
Mozart : Symphony No. 38, "Prague", K.504

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Alexander Janiczek

BRB, 08/10/13

Tchaikovsky : The Sleeping Beauty

Birmingham Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Koen Kessels

Piano aux Jacobins, 11/09/2013

Beethoven : Sonata in F major, Op. 54
Beethoven : Sonata in C major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"
Liszt : Rigoletto, Paraphrase de concert
Liszt : "Miserere" du Trovatore
Liszt/Wagner : "O Star of eve" from Tannhäuser
Liszt/Wagner : Entry of the Guests from Tannhäuser
Liszt/Wagner : Elsa's Dream from Lohengrin
Liszt/Wagner : Isolde's "Liebestod" from Tristan und Isolde

Llyr Williams, piano

Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, 14/07/2013

Verdi : Rigoletto

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
London Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda

Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, 13/07/2013

Richard Strauss : Elektra

Coro Gulbenkian
Orchestre de Paris
Esa-Pekka Salonen

Royal Opera (HD broadcast), 24/06/2013

Britten : Gloriana

Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Paul Daniel

Mariinsky Ballet (3D broadcast), 06/06/2013

Tchaikovsky : Swan Lake

Mariinsky Ballet
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Valery Gergiev

RSNO, 01/06/2013

Ravel : Alborada del gracioso
Vaughan Williams : The Lark Ascending (Nicola Benedetti, violin)
Saint-Saëns : Introduction and Rondo capriccioso (Nicola Benedetti, violin)
Walton (arr. Palmer) : Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario (Cal MacAninch, narrator)

RSNO Chorus
RSNO Junior Chorus
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

Royal Opera (HD broadcast), 27/05/2013

Rossini : La Donna del Lago

Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Michele Mariotti

RSNO, 25/05/2013

Dvorak : Cello Concerto (Truls Mørk)
Stravinsky : Petrouchka

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård

Scottish Opera, 15/05/2013

Gilbert & Sullivan : The Pirates of Penzance

Chorus of The Pirates of Penzance
Scottish Opera Orchestra
Derek Clark

Bolshoi Ballet (HD broadcast), 12/05/2013

Prokofiev : Romeo and Juliet

Artists of the Bolshoi Ballet
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
Andrei Anikhanov

Scottish Ballet, 30/04/2013

Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling
(aka Løvenskjold : La Sylphide)

Scottish Ballet
Orchestra of Scottish Ballet
Richard Honner

RSNO, 27/04/2013

Copland : Suite from Appalachian Spring
Barber : Piano Concerto (Xiayin Wang)
Copland : Piano Concerto (Xiayin Wang)
Adams : Doctor Atomic Symphony

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

SCO, 26/04/2013

Birtwistle : Carmen arcadiae mechanicae perpetuum
Suckling : storm, rose, tiger
Britten : Serenade for tenor, horn and strings (John Mark Ainsley, Alec Frank-Gemmill)
Mozart : Symphony No. 40

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
George Benjamin

SCO, 19/04/2013

Purcell : Suite from King Arthur
Britten : Prelude and Fugue for Strings
Purcell (arr. Egarr) : Four Catches and a Rondeau
Britten : Courtly Dances from Gloriana
Britten : A Hymn to the Virgin
Pärt : Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Purcell : "My Heart is indicting"

SCO Chorus
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Richard Egarr

RSNO, 13/04/2013

Respighi : Ancient Airs and Dances - Suite No. 1
Rodrigo : Concierto de Aranjuez (Milos Karadaglic)
Martucci : Notturno
Respighi : Feste Romane

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Gilbert Varga

Scottish Opera, 09/04/2013

Wagner : The Flying Dutchman

Chorus and Orchestra of Scottish Opera

Francesco Corti

Metropolitan Opera (HD broadcast), 16/03/2013

Zandonai : Francesca da Rimini

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Marco Armiliato

Scottish Opera, 20/02/2013

Massenet : Werther

Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Francesco Corti

BBCSSO, 14/02/2013

Turina : Danzas Fantásticas
Bernstein : Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Ravel : Piano Concerto in G major (Ingrid Fliter)
Tchaikovsky : Capriccio Italien

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Miguel Harth-Bedoya

New Adventures, 13/02/2013

Tchaikovsky : The Sleeping Beauty

New Adventures
Sleeping Beauty Orchestra
Brett Morris (pre-recorded soundtrack)

RSNO, 09/02/2013

Bernstein : Overture to Candide
Gershwin : Piano Concerto (Jon Kimura Parker)
Adams : Harmonielehre

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

RCS/Scottish Opera, 27/01/2013

Wagner : Lohengrin - Prelude, Act 3*
Wagner : Wesendonck-Lieder (Karen Cargill)
Wagner : Tannhäuser - Overture
Verdi : La Forza del Destino - Overure
Verdi : Simon Boccanegra - Act 1, Scene 2; Act 3

Royal Conservatoire Chorus
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
*Gordon Bragg
Francesco Corti

RSNO, 26/01/2013

Borisova-Ollas : Open Ground
Schumann : Piano Concerto (Barry Douglas)
Dvorák : Symphony No. 8

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Christoph Altstaedt

RCS/Scottish Opera, 25/01/2013

Britten : A Midsummer Night's Dream

Students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Timothy Dean

Metropolitan Opera (HD broadcast), 19/01/2013

Donizetti : Maria Stuarda

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Maurizio Benini

BBCSSO, 17/01/2013

Lutoslawski : Symphony No. 4
Szymanowski : Songs of an Infatuated Muezzin (Olga Pasichynk, soprano)
Szymanowski : Songs of a Fairy-Tale Princess (Olga Pasichynk, soprano)
Lutoslawski : Concerto for Orchestra

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov