UK / WEST END CLASSICAL MUSIC NEWS COVERAGE

BroadwayWorld is now accepting nominations for the BroadwayWorld Stage Recording Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in theatrical and performance-based recordings released during the 2025 calendar year....

La bohème. Glyndebourne. Three trumpeters blare out a fanfare as the chorus pours onto stage, ready to deliver the myriad vocal interjections which mark out the beginning of Act 2. But Glyndebourne is No Ordinary Opera, and this is no ordinary scene. On a single musical cue, thirty-six choristers, ...

The London Handel Festival has announced its 2026 Festival, From Heavenly Harmony, a five-week celebration of Handel’s music beginning in February. Learn more here!...

BrightDog Theatre brings its provocative new comedy As the Snow Falls to Canal Café Theatre for a strictly limited run this October. Written and directed by Aidan McConville and Tom Messmer....

After 86 concerts spanning over the past eight weeks, the 130th season of the Proms has come to a close, ending with the iconic Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, which has hosted over 3,000 musicians these past few months. This performance brings together the BBC Singers, BBC Symphon...

South African soprano Golda Schultz is always a treat to hear; with honeyed tones, rich storytelling and nimble versatility, the programme at Saturday's prom was an excellent vehicle to show off her considerable skills....

'Who doesn't check twice behind the shower curtain now?' asks presenter Edith Bowman, kicking off a spinetingling evening of thriller film soundtracks from the excellent BBC Concert Orchestra, under the assured direction of American conductor Edwin Outwater at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall....

Experiencing art in a former car park is never going to get old - cold perhaps - so I was glad to return to Bold Tendencies to sample their 2025 season titled Déjà vu. ...

Mozart's beloved comedy The Marriage of Figaro opened Glyndebourne's very first Festival in 1934 and is the renowned opera house's most performed work. No sooner has the production closed in Sussex, it reappeared in London at the BBC Proms for a super semi-staged version....

Speranza Scappucci will make her debut as Principal Guest Conductor of The Royal Opera with Verdi’s The Sicilian Vespers, opening on the Main Stage September 19 and running through October 6, 2025. ...

This programme of music seems to thrive on themes of togetherness, resilience, and support that may have also influenced the Russian composer at the mid-point of his life, the Hungarian maestro nearing the end of his, and even the bright young man setting out to shake us the music scene in Europe to...

It's 20 years since Anoushka Shankar made her Proms debut, along with her father Ravi Shakar. Since then she has eclipsed even his enduring reputation as a world-renowned sitarist. Now a multi-Grammy-nominated artist, a sitar virtuoso and prolific composer, Shankar makes a triumphant return to the ...

Bringing Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra back to the BBC Proms, last night’s concert offered a programme of Beethoven’s 'Symphony No. 7 in A major' alongside Bartok’s dark one-act opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.  ...

This is a great opportunity to hear the breadth of Beethoven’s work performed in a novel way, and the drama does have its flashes of brilliance. In order to preserve these fleeting moments of conviction, though, Beethoven: I Shall Hear in Heaven needs to move away from tired biographical tropes an...

A program featuring one of the world's most beloved symphonies, a stunning piano concerto allowing pianist Alexandre Kantorow to show off his prowess, and a fascinating contemporary piece by Scottish composer Jay Capperauld, the 10th BBC Prom 2025 marks a triumph for conductor Maxim Emelyanychev and...

From the moment the first note rang out, this was no ordinary Proms night. Four wildly different pieces, one restless thread: mischief. Mendelssohn is the marquee name here but really this was a foray into the world of fairytale birds, lyrical longing, mythological monkeys and death-defying prankste...

Once Proms season comes around, there aren’t many better places to be on a Sunday morning than at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a return to more traditional Proms fare this time, with a trip to the 17th and 18th centuries for a selection of mostly Vivaldi and Bach pieces - although the programme a...

As classical performance continues to wrestle with relevance, accessibility and representation, the Proms are under pressure to lead this change. This opening night offered progress in places, but also showed how much further there is to go....

The BBC Proms has announced the lineup for its 2025 edition. The BBC Proms will present an eight-week celebration of  music featuring over 3,000 artists, the first overnight Prom  in almost half a century and more than 80 solo debuts....

Dominated by a new James MacMillan work, and a lively couple of pieces by Shostakovich reflecting on the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, this concert from the LSO, with their Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda and violinist Nicola Benedetti, offered a lively evening of music. Full-blo...

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has announced the appointment of Spanish-born Jesús Herrera to the role of Artistic Director from June 2025. Learn more here!...