Online lecture recitals from Opera Prelude

OPERA Prelude is offering more online lecture recitals over the summer.

The Fawley-based charity has a track record of presenting high quality, opera-related events in prestigious and historic
locations.

Since 2010, it has hosted almost 300 lecture recitals, concerts and operas.

But with no live performances currently possible, Opera Prelude is presenting short online lecture recitals, performances and discussions on its website.

These feature talented young artists who will be joined from time to time by performers, academics, art historians and musicologists. The forthcoming recitals are as follows:

July 14 — Handel’s rival queens, Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni.

Join soprano Mimi Doulton to learn about one of the greatest diva rivalries of all time.

July 21 — Soirées Musicales: Rossini in Paris.

Soprano Joanna Songi introduces us to Rossini’s Samedi Soir musical salons, the most exclusive Parisian salon of the time, attracting countless famous and intellectual figures and many composers.

July 28 — Mozart and the women who influenced him.

Join soprano Phoebe Haines on a journey through the emotional and musical landscape of one of the best-loved composers of all time.

August 4 — Susan Bullock in conversation.

Susan Bullock CBE in conversation with conductor and pianist Mark Austin, discussing her international career and the Wagnerian roles she has performed.

August 11 — HIP or not — music and the Living Museum. “What does it mean to perform music in a historically informed style?”

Tenor James Way suggests that far from donning wigs and tunics, it can lead us to completely new ways of performing the repertoire of previous centuries.

August 18 — From one generation to another — a conversation between two tenors. The tenor Hugh Hetherington, who enjoyed a varied operatic career, will be speaking to his son Xavier, who has also chosen to sing.

Auust 25 — Light and story — Mozart’s narratives.

Mezzo soprano Rosie Clifford explores how Mozart’s operas offer us a glimpse into a world being reborn, the world of the enlightenment, through that most fundamental human creation, the story.

Donations will be invited, from £4 to £25.

For more information and to watch previous events, visit www.operaprelude.org