Northampton’s new opera company, the NORTHAMPTON OPERA GROUP, presents its second opera gala concert in the Cripps Theatre. International pianist and conductor Phillip Thomas leads a cast of local and international singers in a delicious medley of irresistible operatic favourites. Soprano Linda Richardson Baritone Michael Gibson and Tenor Nick Dwyer, are joined by a hand-picked local chorus and rising young stars from the county.

75th Anniversary Concert

Linda Richardson soprano

Yvonne Howard mezzo soprano

John Pierce tenor

James Cleverton bass

Chester Music Society choir

Liverpool Sinfonia

Graham Jordan Ellis conductor

In 1873 the Italian poet, novelist and national hero Alessandro Manzoni died. Verdi had been a lifelong admirer and decided to write a Requiem in his memory. Though it is Verdi’s only large-scale work not intended for the stage, the Requiem is unashamedly theatrical in style, with passages of great tenderness and simplicity contrasting with intensely dramatic sections. The eminent conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow aptly described it as ‘Verdi’s latest opera, in church vestments’ The first performance of the Messa di Requiem was a successful performance although the restrained circumstances and prohibition against applause produced a somewhat muted reaction. In contrast, the second performance three days later, at La Scala Opera House, was received by the capacity crowd with tumultuous enthusiasm. The Requiem became an overnight sensation, and was equally ecstatically received at the many European performances that soon followed. Its British premiere took place in May 1875 at the Albert Hall, conducted by Verdi himself, with a chorus of over 1000 and an orchestra of 140. Few choral works have captured the public imagination in the way that Verdi’s Requiem has. The uncomplicated directness of his style, his soaring, lyrical melodies which lie perfectly for the human voice, the scintillating orchestration and, most significantly, the work’s extraordinary dramatic and emotional intensity, all contribute to the Requiem’s status as one of the great icons of Western music. Last performed by Chester Music Society in 2010, this presents a rare occasion to hear this magnificent work in the thrilling acoustic of Chester cathedral.

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

#WNOgiovanni

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

Gareth Brynmor / John Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

#WNOgiovanni

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

#WNOgiovanni

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

#WNOgiovanni

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson, Soprano

Verdi: Requiem

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Andrei Kymach / Don Giovanni

Simon Bailey / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Sarah Tynan / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney/ Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Andrei Kymach / Don Giovanni

Simon Bailey / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Saray Tynan / Donna Elvira

Isabelle Peters / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Italian Passions

Presented by Kidderminster Choral Society

A concert featuring Rossini’s masterpiece ‘Stabat Mater’ together with a selection of powerful and passionate opera choruses

Featuring:

Linda Richardson, soprano

Kidderminster Choral Society

Geoff Weaver, Conductor

The Elgar Sinfonia

Guest Soloists

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson replaces an ill Alexia Voulgaridou as Cio Cio San in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.

WNO Orchestra

https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/madam-butterfly-puccini#venues-and-tickets

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Andrei Kymach / Don Giovanni

Simon Bailey / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Sarah Tynan / Donna Elvira

Isabelle Peters / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera.

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom/ Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

James Atkinson / Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Linda Richardson sings Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Welsh National Opera

MOZART Don Giovanni

Duncan Rock / Don Giovanni

Joshua Bloom / Leporello

Linda Richardson / Donna Anna

Meeta Raval / Donna Elvira

Harriet Eyley / Zerlina

Gareth Brynmor / John Masetto

Trystan Llyr Griffiths / Don Ottavio

James Platt / Commendatore

John Caird / Original Director

Caroline Chaney / Revival Director

Tobias Ringborg / Conductor

WNO Orchestra

Source: https://wno.org.uk/whats-on/don-giovanni-mozart

Mendelssohn: ElijahThis dramatic retelling of the triumphs and despair of the Hebrew prophet Elijah was a creative high point for its composer, Felix Mendelssohn. Set to music in the 1840s, the biblical tale becomes a musical snapshot of the human condition, and a reflection on whether the woes of a nation are the responsibility of its people.

Linda Richardson soprano

Diana Moore mezzo-soprano

Greg Tassell tenor

Gareth Brynmor John baritone

English Arts Orchestra

Leslie Olive conductor

Ticket prices: £42, £34, £26, £12. Available from: Southbank Centre Box Office / Website; or at the door.

Source: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/mendelssohn-elijah?eventId=876795

Burnley Choral Society present their 100th Anniversary Concert. Linda Richardson -soprano, Nicholas Watts -tenor, Grant Doyle -baritone, Burnley Choral Society, Nigel Wilkinson, Director of Music

Following on from the sell-out success of previous acclaimed Celebrate Voice Operas, this year we present Verdi’s, La Traviata, one of the greatest love stories ever told in opera and a work of such enduring power that it draws audiences and performers to it again and again.

Violetta is a courtesan at the top of her profession, but she knows that time is running out for her. In a life-changing gamble, she embarks on a romance with Alfredo. It feels too good to be true until she receives a visit from Alfredo’s father, who corners her into a deal that will shatter her happiness.With death looking over her shoulder, Violetta deals with the challenges of love, money and moral code as Verdi’s music finds its way into our souls.

Celebrate Voice brings an internationally renowned cast of singers to Salisbury for this very special performance. Lead by Linda Richardson, who recently performed Violetta with Welsh National Opera, and Adriano Graziani whose recent Alfredo performances have been with Arizona Opera and Stadttheater Bern.

With music direction from the inimitable Phillip Thomas and direction by Nick Fowler this new production will draw its inspiration from its stunning and intimate setting in the banqueting hall.

Sung in Italian with English surtitles. Piano accompaniment

Cast

Violetta Linda Richardson

Germont David Stephenson

Alfredo Adriano Graziani

Annina Anne-Marie Owens

Gastone Robin Bailey

Barone Stuart Pendred

Marchese Robert Gildon

Flora Lynsey Docherty

Grenvil Paul Carey-Jones

Music Director/ Piano Phillip Thomas

Director Nick Fowler

This year Celebrate Voice is breaking new ground by featuring a pioneering work for singers, actors and musicians.

I lived for Art – a play with opera by Philip Blake-Jones, combines a dramatic narrative with some of the greatest arias and ensembles from the operas of Purcell, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Puccini.

Set at the end of World War II in a Jewish holding ghetto, the inhabitants live with the constant threat of being transported on crowded trains to the ‘East’. We now know this meant almost certain death in a concentration camp. In an attempt to save their lives, singers and musicians are forced to perform for their captors. The play examines the power and mystery of music for the voice, telling a story of emotional and physical escape and retribution, during one of man’s blackest periods.

Featuring an international cast of singers and professional actors, together with young people from the Wiltshire Youth Choir, this premiere performance will be an evening of passion, drama and sublime music.

Philip Blake-Jones has written and created performances combining music and words, including ‘A Passion for Puccini’ and ‘Viva Verdi’, for presentation at the Windsor Festival and theatres including the Buxton Opera House, Richmond Theatre, New Theatre Oxford and La Fenice in Venice. He is the Artistic Director of London Festival Opera.

​For singers, actors, youth choir and musicians.

Actors:

Jakob: (a musician) Josh Miller

Klieger: (Commandant of the ghetto) Gregory A Smith

Anton: (an artist) Nick Danan

Sacher: (leader of the Jewish Council in the ghetto) Ed Allenby

Eva: (an aspiring opera singer) Liz Garland

Opera Singers:

Soprano Linda Richardson

Mezzo-Soprano Hannah Pedley

Tenor Adriano Graziani

Baritone David Stephenson

Pianist David Gostick

Featuring Wiltshire Youth Choir

Production:

Writer and Producer Philip Blake-Jones

Director Sophie Drake

Co-Producer Christian Emmerson

Following on from the sell-out success of previous acclaimed Celebrate Voice Operas, this year we present Verdi’s, La Traviata, one of the greatest love stories ever told in opera and a work of such enduring power that it draws audiences and performers to it again and again.

Violetta is a courtesan at the top of her profession, but she knows that time is running out for her. In a life-changing gamble, she embarks on a romance with Alfredo. It feels too good to be true until she receives a visit from Alfredo’s father, who corners her into a deal that will shatter her happiness.With death looking over her shoulder, Violetta deals with the challenges of love, money and moral code as Verdi’s music finds its way into our souls.

Celebrate Voice brings an internationally renowned cast of singers to Salisbury for this very special performance. Lead by Linda Richardson, who recently performed Violetta with Welsh National Opera, and Adriano Graziani whose recent Alfredo performances have been with Arizona Opera and Stadttheater Bern.

With music direction from the inimitable Phillip Thomas and direction by Nick Fowler this new production will draw its inspiration from its stunning and intimate setting in the banqueting hall.

Sung in Italian with English surtitles. Piano accompaniment

Cast

Violetta Linda Richardson

Germont David Stephenson

Alfredo Adriano Graziani

Annina Anne-Marie Owens

Gastone Robin Bailey

Barone Stuart Pendred

Marchese Robert Gildon

Flora Lynsey Docherty

Grenvil Paul Carey-Jones

Music Director/ Piano Phillip Thomas

Director Nick Fowler

Following on from the sell-out success of previous acclaimed Celebrate Voice Operas, this year we present Verdi’s, La Traviata, one of the greatest love stories ever told in opera and a work of such enduring power that it draws audiences and performers to it again and again.

Violetta is a courtesan at the top of her profession, but she knows that time is running out for her. In a life-changing gamble, she embarks on a romance with Alfredo. It feels too good to be true until she receives a visit from Alfredo’s father, who corners her into a deal that will shatter her happiness.With death looking over her shoulder, Violetta deals with the challenges of love, money and moral code as Verdi’s music finds its way into our souls.

Celebrate Voice brings an internationally renowned cast of singers to Salisbury for this very special performance. Lead by Linda Richardson, who recently performed Violetta with Welsh National Opera, and Adriano Graziani whose recent Alfredo performances have been with Arizona Opera and Stadttheater Bern.

With music direction from the inimitable Phillip Thomas and direction by Nick Fowler this new production will draw its inspiration from its stunning and intimate setting in the banqueting hall.

Sung in Italian with English surtitles. Piano accompaniment

Cast

Violetta Linda Richardson

Germont David Stephenson

Alfredo Adriano Graziani

Annina Anne-Marie Owens

Gastone Robin Bailey

Barone Stuart Pendred

Marchese Robert Gildon

Flora Lynsey Docherty

Grenvil Paul Carey-Jones

Music Director/ Piano Phillip Thomas

Director Nick Fowler

Linda Richardson presented in recital.