Jane’s autumn music guide 2 – opera

Discover the astonishing power of opera this autumn with English Touring Opera’s productions at the Gala Theatre.

Review: ETO Radamisto

Handel’s Radamisto isn’t one of his greatest operatic hits but is lifted by an imaginative production and great performances by ETO.

Caesar and Cleopatra in all their glory

Handel’s Giulio Cesare is a sumptuous feast of an opera, with one ravishing aria after another. I’m absolutely thrilled that ETO have chosen it for this autumn’s production, coming to Durham for two nights in October, and to introduce you to my favourite Handel opera, I’ve put together a summary and playlist of the best arias.

Autumn preview: an accidental music festival

A selection of this autumn’s concerts, including five glorious days of early music from The Sixteen, I Fagiolini and English Touring Opera.

Autumn 2016 concerts

A run-down of some of the concerts taking place in Durham over the next few months, including one of the world’s greatest early music groups, baroque opera, Messiah, Royal Northern Sinfonia at Ushaw, and a world premiere performed by Orchestra North East.

The gods diminished – ETO Iphégenie en Tauride

English Touring Opera’s disturbing and finely sung production of Gluck’s Iphégenie en Tauride shows up the futility of trying to blame everything on the gods.

Donizetti – The Siege of Calais

If you didn’t manage to get tickets for English Touring Opera’s La Bohème, or if you’re being good and going to choir practice instead, you could give their other Durham production a go – I previewed Donizetti’s The Siege of Calais for NEMM Blog.

ETO Handel: Ottone

English Touring Opera brought the Byzantine glories of Handel’s “Ottone” to the Gala Theatre. I’m still buzzing.

ETO: Life on the Moon

English Touring Opera’s boisterous production of Haydn’s sci-fi comic opera Life on the Moon: reviewed at Gala Theatre Durham, 4 November.